Women.com presents David Hasselhoff Chat about "One True Love" and "Jekyll & Hyde" October 23, 2000
Actor David Hasselhoff, former star and producer of the hugely popular "Baywatch" series, chats about his new made-for-TV movie, "One True Love," and Broadway musical, "Jekyll & Hyde."

Women.com: Hello, and welcome to our chat with actor, producer, singer, (and hunk) David Hasselhoff. He's here to talk about his new made-for-TV movie, "One True Love," and Broadway musical, "Jekyll & Hyde." We welcome you, David.

David: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here; regards from Broadway.

Tiny dancer: Tell us about your new movie, "One True Love."

David: I'm happy to say I have gone back a little bit--back to my soap opera days with a very romantic love story that is quite similar to a couple of movies that I am sure people would know, "An Affair to Remember" and "Sleepless in Seattle." It is based on a true story about a fireman who rescues a woman in a tragic accident. During the rescue, there is a spiritual connection between the two. Both were involved in other relationships, but somehow felt that God had brought them together and they never gave up on the search for each other. Eventually, they find each other, and the couple is together. I met the real people, and their story was quite moving.

Alesha: How did you meet your wife? Was it fate and love at first sight?

David: I met my wife on "Knight Rider." I would actually like to say hello to her. She is online now. And to my two beautiful girls, "Hi! Daddy is in New York, and missing you all terribly." I met my wife on the set of "Knight Rider," and it was destiny. Two years later, I met her again. We had both come out of relationships, and we happened to be free and available at a chance meeting at a restaurant in Los Angeles 11 years ago. We are still taking our marriage and our life as lovers and parents very seriously and passionately, I am happy to say.

Thomas: Can you describe playing Jekyll and Hyde? It looks like you're getting a chance to stretch on this one.

David: Talk about a stretch on this one. Wow! It is the hardest undertaking I have ever done. It's the most challenging and the most rewarding. It has been physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting, but taking this role is about following a dream of an eight-year-old boy. My one ambition was to go to Broadway, and I never gave up on that dream. Last Tuesday night, it came true, and what a night it was. It was terrifying and emotional, and I don't think I've stopped smiling since. The official opening is October 31st, Halloween, but I began basic previews last week. But as far as I am concerned, I have already opened, because when you walk out on that stage, it is you and the energy, and the belief of your friends, family and God that
carries you through.

Audiemarks: A musical on Broadway takes a lot of work in areas you might have been unfamiliar with. Did you know how to sing? Can you dance?

David: No. My wife is the dancer, but I certainly know how to sing. I started training for musicals since I was a boy. Getting in shape for this role, which is incredibly demanding, vocally, has been a lot of hard work, but I'm nailing it. I'm even kind of, at times, blowing my own mind, because I am even able to talk right now. I am studying with the biggest opera coach in New York. So far, the big talk from the people who have seen this show is, "Wow! What a great voice!" And it does not come without very hard work.

Night shade7: After all the recent success on TV, why the move to a play?

David: I'd felt I had accomplished everything I could on "Baywatch," and I always knew I would end up on Broadway. And as the song on the show "This is the moment" from the play says, "This is my moment in life."

Sue: Were you afraid of being typecast after the phenomenal international success of "Baywatch?"

David: No. No, I've managed to have a long career from the "Young and the Restless," to "Knight Rider," to "Baywatch," but I always knew my real calling. The talent that I was blessed with was really for the theater.

Angela Ann: What was your favorite part of playing the part in "One True Love?"

David: My favorite part was working with Cameron Finley, a very good friend, who I actually adopted and became a foster parent to on several episodes of "Baywatch." And also, working
with Terry Farrell, who I found to be a lot of fun.

Carol Heath: Does making movies and plays take time away from your family, or do you still make time for them?

David: My family is currently preparing to move here. I came up alone so I could really concentrate on singing classes and rehearsal for this enormous undertaking. However, after two weeks, I was calling home saying, "Get up here! I cannot do this without you!" So my wife and children and my little dog are coming to live with me next week.

Hefty momma: What was your most challenging role up to this point?

David: My most challenging role was when I played the character of Jack in a motion picture that is not released, but should be on soon on HBO called "Layover." It was a Hitchcockian-type, edge-of-your-seat thriller, and a very different character for me.

Peaceout89: Hi, David. Saw your official site, and it looks great! Do you actually visit fan sites to put them on your site?

David: Absolutely! The two fan sites that are there that have links on David Haselhoff.com are fantastic web sites. I visit them, communicate with them, and sometimes borrow information from them, because they are amazingly thorough. My web site is so fresh. The paint is still wet, but stay tuned, because I have lots of personal things, specifically about what is happening day-to-day, that I will keep updating daily.

Cynthia: Camp Baywatch is a lot different from "Baywatch," the television series. How did "Baywatch" producer Greg Bonann come up with the idea of a summer camp for disadvantaged kids?

David: His girlfriend, Tai Collins, was the founder of Camp Baywatch. It all started because the very first time we were looking for locations, before there was a "Baywatch," a boy and his sister came to the beach from the inner city. They lived only five miles from the beach, but had never seen the ocean. They took a bus, skipped school, and went swimming. The boy got caught in a rip current and came very close to drowning. Greg Bonann, who was one of the creators and a lifeguard in real life, responded to his little sister saying, "Please help! Please help!" He swam out and saved the boy's life. There began Camp Baywatch, a foundation to bring inner city children to the beach, and for one week, they're taught to swim, and learn life saving techniques. More important, they are taught that there are people who care. One addition to this story--I was shopping for my wife at a jewelry store one Christmas, and the security guard at the front of the store said, "David Hasselhoff." I said, "Yes, sir." He said, "I am the little boy that Greg Bonann rescued. I was eight years old, and I am alive today because of your show." It was a very magical moment.

Isak1: What sort of charity work are you involved in?

David: Most of the charity work that I have done has been very hands-on on a personal level. I founded my own charity, "Race for Life," and been a part of other charities, Starlight and Make a Wish. I have visited children in over forty countries, and I've found that being the "Knight Rider," or Mitch, can make a child forget about their pain for a moment. It's been, I think, one of the reasons that God has blessed me with such great success. I believe that if you are blessed, it is your moral obligation to give that blessing to someone else.

Stephanie: What do you want your legacy to be as a performer? In other words, what do you want people to remember about you and your career?

David: Just that I was able to move people, whether it be through action, humor, or tears, and that I always gave a 110 percent, and will continue.

DHfan1: Do you think that "Knight Rider" will appear on the big screen someday?

David: Very good question, and, hopefully, I will have a very good answer soon. Right now, I am in negotiation to bring "Knight Rider" back as a major motion picture. I just have to find out where KITT is.

Mnntve: Do you own a replica of KITT from "Knight Rider?"

David: Yes. I have the dash and the scanner of the "Knight Rider" car in my house. On long, lonely nights, I can be seen sitting in a corner in the dark talking to the car.

Mary: Several years ago, you told People Magazine that you believed "Baywatch" was about romance, not sex. Do you still feel the same way today? Why?

David: I really don't know what "Baywatch" is about, now. I am so far into my new career that I haven't really had a chance to read the scripts or communicate with the new producers. When I left "Baywatch," it became a different show, but I can't comment on it, because I haven't even seen the new year's episodes.

Lundell: I read in the New York newspaper this morning that you thought you should have gotten the George Clooney role in "A Perfect Storm." How do you feel you would have been better? And Why?

David: Absolutely the most ridiculous story I have ever read. If you read the quote that it was taken from, you will see I had never mentioned the name George Clooney. What I was asked in an interview was, and this is the truth, "How do feel about not being taken seriously as an actor?" My response was, "Sometimes it's much more difficult to talk to a car and make that believable, and sometimes it's much more difficult to make scripts on "Baywatch" work than it is to do a scene on "ER."" I wish I had scenes from "ER," and I wish I could do movies like "The Perfect Storm." I would never, ever say anything about George Clooney, as I am a major fan of his. I thought the whole thing was actually kind of funny, because George Clooney, I am sure, is the first person that would look at this and say, "Tabloid fluff," because he's been burned as well.

IHayes: I read in People Magazine that you did your own stunts on "Knight Rider." Was it fun being your own stunt man on "Knight Rider?"

David: Well, I did not do all my own stunts, and an actor who says they do all of their own stunts is usually stretching the truth. I had a very capable stunt driver named Jack Gill, who drove the car for me in the jumps, which I was not allowed to do, because they were very dangerous. I did, I'd say, at least about 80 percent of the rest of the driving, and I had the time of my life. That's why I want to bring it back. It was more fun than 'you know what'?

Noodle: TV Guide once named you one of "TV's 10 Most Powerful Stars." How does something like that change your life and the way other stars treat you?

David: Actually, that is a very good question. It gained me a lot of respect within the industry, and a lot of stars to find out how I made "Baywatch" number one, and how I could be a part owner. I think it inspired a lot of actors to follow in my footsteps and learn about the business side of the words 'show business'.

Smidge555: I hear your music is popular in Europe. What kind of songs do you most like to sing? Do you prefer singing to acting?

David: Right now, I am actually in the studio completing an album of romantic love songs in Spanish. I love big romantic ballads. My music in Europe (between 1988 and the last ten years) has been mostly pop, but now I am leaning towards stuff like my good friend Michael Bolton does. That man can sing.

Kitchie: If you could make one change in your career so far, what would it be?

David: I would have come to New York 30 years ago. But as far as I'm concerned, the best is yet to come.

Women.com: Thanks for an interesting chat. Do you have any final thoughts?

David: Believe in yourself, and never give up. Dreams do come true. I want to wish a good night to my lovely wife, Pamela, and my two beautiful children. I love you all.

Women.com: Our chat with David Hasselhoff has come to an end. Be sure to check out his new CBS made-for-TV movie, "One True Love," on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 9:00 PM, ET/PT. Also, "Jekyll & Hyde," starring David, opens on Halloween, Tuesday, October 31st, at the Plymouth Theatre in New York, NY.

This chat has been a presentation of Women.com and Talk City, Inc. Copyright 2000. All rights reserved.