Your character in Legacy, Jack Scott, is described as a danger junkie.
Well, he's looking for the best shot. He's looking for the shot he's not supposed to be taking - he's the one who always gets the shot.

What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done?
[long pause] Well, I don't know - I've done a lot of my own stunts. I'm just wondering - one of the most dangerous things I've done on this movie is climb up seven floors on a scaffolding in Manila. [chuckles] If you've ever seen a scaffolding in Manila you know what I'm talking about. With some guy dumping cement on my head. I've flown with the Blue Angels, I flew a hang-glider over Kenya with a camera, I've jumped off a seven-story building into an airbag. I'm a go-for-it guy. A lot of times I wouldn't do it unless they say "Action!" They say "Action" and I find myself jumping off a cliff in Jamaica and I get two gigantic bruises on my butt. I had to explain that to my wife when I came home.

What are the chances of you directing - going behind the camera for a change?
I certainly help with script supervision; I certainly help with giving actors notes, because I've been doing this for twenty years. I've wanted to direct many times, but I've - I kind of like leave that up to people who really know that end of it. I'm a producer at heart, and being a producer is a guy who is able to bring in a TJ Scott as director, Kevin Lund as writer, and say, "Well, the writing sucks. Fix that. Do this." Kind of oversee the whole thing.

Kind of like David Selznick.
Yeah. It's funny you should mention that because my manager's name was Joyce Selznick - the lady who found me - she was his niece.

I understand that Joyce Selznick - when she decided to take you on as a client - she decided to do so on the basis of your looks.
Yeah. I went into her office and she said, "Can you act?" There's a cigar in her mouth. I said, "Yeah." She goes, "Bullshit." I say , "Look, I waited three hours today and your dog just bit me in the leg." His name was Shamus.

So it's a true story, then.
Yeah, it bit me in the fucking leg. "I didn't wait three hours yesterday and three hours today to be insulted." She says, "Siddown! Shaddup! You're a fucking star." She looked out the window and Al Ruddy [producer of The Godfather] was driving his car. She jumped in her car and literally drove Al Ruddy off the road and said, "David Hasselhoff - the star of your new series." That was my introduction to Hollywood. And it was wild. I've kind of taken that whole Joyce Selznick persona with me - in my work. She always told the truth. She was tops.

What kind of movie won't we be seeing you in in the future?
You won't be seeing me in something that exploited violence or sex. If I could make a few movies before it's all over I'd like to make some remakes of Cary Grant. I enjoy all of his movies. Romantic comedies. I love them.

You've had to work very hard to get the - the look, the body that you have now. What's your secret?
Well, actually, I'm in pretty bad shape right about now. [laughs]

You were voted third best abs on TV recently -
Not right now - look - [pats his stomach] this is where all the - I've eaten about every shrimp over here.

Tell me about singing on the Berlin Wall.
Probably the highlight of my career ever. Nothing will top that. 500,000 people. I had a single called "Looking for freedom." Well, those people that we're talking about - they were looking for freedom. So they called my house and they said Would you like to sing on New Year's Eve on a show which was like the Dick Clark Show in Europe. And I said, "Yeah, but I wanna sing on the Berlin Wall." Never figuring that they'd say yes. They called back and they said, "OK." So with a couple of buddies from high school, my wife who was seven months pregnant, I went [does a wailing siren], the policemen - there were all 500,000 people here so we're all - East Germany, West Germany - I go up in a crane - [sings] "I been looking for freedom!" And everyone's singing my song. I was crying, freezing at the same time - it was two degrees below zero - came down, got a bottle of schnapps, started chopping the wall, putting pieces of the wall in our pockets, brought them home, and gave them to my crew on a little plaque saying "A little piece of freedom - we were there."

Do you speak German?
No. I sing in German.

Is there a difference?
Yeah. I'm not smart enough to speak German [laughs]. I'm like a parrot - I sing in French, I sing in German, I sing in Spanish.

You were trained in opera.
I was trained in opera, and musicals. My favorite artist now is Andreas Bocelli. He is - unreal. A blind pop opera singer. I took a couple of his songs and translated them into English in my new album. I like the classic singers. I like the passion in those songs. You know? A little bit more passion than - "I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world."

What else do you listen to?
Blues. Robert Cray, blues. I like Seal, and blues. Any kind of music that makes you feel something. Acting and singing is - touching people's emotions and their hearts. When you go to a movie you want to cry, you want to be in love, you want to fall in love. We're emotional human beings, and that's what art's about - just tapping into people's emotions. Letting them fantasize and forget about their real life for - a minute, or a hundred and three minutes.

So are you an actor or a singer?
I just go with the flow. I don't think about it. Whatever happens happens. I'm just having a good time. It's called common sense, really. I'm not brilliant, you know? I inherited one thing from my mother and father and that was taste and compassion for my fellow man, and that's got me through life. That you remember the name of the guy who bangs the slate on this movie is more important than a lot of things. Just learning how to treat other people.

Who are your other influences?
Sammy Davis, Jr. was a big one for me.

What aspect of him?
Well, I waited tables on Sammy Davis, Jr. when I started out. I was a waiter. I met him later and he said, "You wear the hat of success well. Don't mess with the hat, or it'll be taken away." So if you give you a hundred and ten percent, the audience cannot fault you for that. They may not like the repertoire, they may not like you. But if you give a hundred and ten percent every time, you're a winner. A really cool guy. Sammy Davis is really - he's the man.

He's a showman.
That's what I am. I'm a showman. When you walk away from a Hasselhoff concert, you know you've had a good time. And that's what's important. There's a lot of pure singers out there who are really boring. They have no connection with their audience. When I'm in my concerts I just - I tear up the place. Knock shit down. You have one life, you live it. Cyrano de Bergerac says, "I eat life." It's important, you know? They'll say, "Why do you have so much energy?" I say, "Why not?"

There's a web site that says that you're the perfect candidate for President of the United States.
I met President Clinton and I realized that we had a lot of things in common.

Such as -?
Such as, very charismatic with people. He was always meeting people, talking to people, taking pictures, and that's what I do. It was so cinema. The only way I could be President is if he was behind me, writing the speeches and making sure I got there on time [laughs] - I'm sure President Clinton has got his aides as well.

What TV shows do you watch?
Used to watch Dick van Dyke when I was growing up. My favorite show. I like Law and Order. Very good actors. I must saw I don't watch much television, because I'm doing television. I like sports. I'm just a regular American guy. I watch a lot of football.

Did you ever play football?
Yeah.

Not basketball, though.
Sure, basketball - but I wasn't very good at it. I was, like, the - The Actor.

Which clique did you hang out with in high school?
Oh, I hung out with everybody. I hung out with the greasers, I hung out with the cool football players, and the "clique" - you know - the "clique" was the - the cool people. The rich, good-looking kids. I hung out with them all.

Really?
Yeah. Because I was an actor, so I could float. I could float between anybody. Everybody wanted to be The Actor in high school. And I got the leads in all the plays. So I was cool.

What plays did you appear in in high school?
Once Upon a Mattress, Girl-crazy, Annie Get Your Gun, Oliver. The Fantasticks was the biggest play ever in the history of my high school. I love that play. I met a girl recently that was on that show and she was on Knight Rider with me and all we did was sing the score.

What was the first record you bought?
Oh god - it was [sings] "Walk like a man" [Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons] Wait wait - [sings] "Cool, cool water." [The Beach Boys] Remember that? "Cool, cool water."

What's a babe?
I think a babe is a person who looks you in your eyes and you cannot win a staring contest. You have to look away because you're just so intimidated by her beauty. I think every man is intimidated by a good-looking woman.

Even you?
Oh sure. Absolutely.

What do women like best about you?
Sense of humor.

And what do they like least?
I get all the attention. [laughs]

What's the hardest part of being David Hasselhoff?
Being away from my family. It's terrible.

You've been married for eight years; you have two daughters. How do you cope?
Try to immerse myself in as much work as possible. I try to do that, and do something like - diving to a wreck or something that gets my attention away. The next gig I've got will be in South Africa for two months. I'm taking my kids with me. This trip just did me in - I've got to have them with me. I said, I'm sorry - you may miss a month of school, but I can't be without you again. If you're single you can go out and drink, get laid. You're married - you can't do that. Nor would I want to. I want my kids. I'm a different person now.

What's the most important piece of advice that your father or your mother ever gave you?
Never give up. And believe in yourself.

What sunblock do you use?
Actually the SPF past 25 is all bullshit. You can't get more than 25. So if you go out, you buy 45, it's more money - don't buy it. The SPF 25 is the tops.

All-time best beach in the world.
[thinks for a while] It's a toss-up.

Between?
Mauritius and Amanpulo. Amanpulo because there's nobody there, the sand is like butter, you can skinny-dip. And Mauritius because they have fantastic surf there.

What's the best pick-up line to use on the beach?
"You ever seen Baywatch?"

Have you ever found yourself talking to your car?
Absolutely. We all talk to our cars. We talk about whether it'll run out of gas. You know, [mimes starting a car] "Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on." I was talking to a jeepney the other day.

What did you say?
I said, "Come on, baby, come on, baby -" [laughs] "Don't kill me, don't kill me here! We're in Bacolor, no one will ever know I'm dead!"

Give me three steps to looking great on the beach.
Never bring a book. Bring lots of sunblock. And lots of water.

Water?
Yeah. Water's the key.