{"id":121470,"date":"2024-08-28T19:59:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T19:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/28\/jeremy-jackson-recalls-being-cast-in-baywatch-over-leonardo-dicaprio\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T19:59:37","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T19:59:37","slug":"jeremy-jackson-recalls-being-cast-in-baywatch-over-leonardo-dicaprio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/28\/jeremy-jackson-recalls-being-cast-in-baywatch-over-leonardo-dicaprio\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeremy Jackson Recalls Being Cast in ‘Baywatch’ Over Leonardo DiCaprio"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>

\n Jeremy Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio<\/span> Michael Tullberg;Jon Kopaloff\/WireImage\/Getty Images(2)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeremy Jackson<\/strong> beat out several famous faces to land his role as Hobie Buchannon on the hit show Baywatch<\/em><\/a> \u2014 including the one and only Leonardo DiCaprio<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t actually even know [about that until] many years later,\u201d Jackson, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly<\/em> at the premiere of After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun<\/em><\/a> on Monday, August 26. The actor noted that when he auditioned for the show, he, DiCaprio, Jonathan Brandis<\/strong> and more child stars were often competing for the same roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of kid actors who are about the same age, who were about that same cute, sultry [style with a] little edge,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was always head-to-head. So, you know, it\u2019s just the one I got. It\u2019s the luck of the draw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson took over the role of Hobie from Brandon Call<\/strong> after season 1 of Baywatch<\/em> in 1989 and remained in the role through 1999. (Baywatch ended its run after 11 seasons in 2001.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"20<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Original ‘Baywatch’ Cast: Where Are They Now?<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tThe red bathing suits, tan bodies and slow-motion running makes Baywatch impossible to forget \u2014 even decades after it originally aired. Baywatch followed lifeguards on a California (and later, Hawaii) beach as they saved innocent people from drowning, sharks and the occasional serial killer. The drama first premiered on NBC in 1989 and ran for [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI was born to entertain, man. From 1 year old, you know, I was doing impersonations, dancing and singing. It\u2019s all I ever wanted to do,\u201d Jackson said of his early career days, noting that acting never felt like a \u201cjob\u201d to him. \u201cBaywatch<\/em> hit it big, and then I went out and I was doing music touring and released an album. So, it was like a dream come true for me.<\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s time on Baywatch<\/em> cemented him as the show\u2019s second longest-running cast member, next to his onscreen father, David Hasselhoff<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a 10-year-old fatherless, hyperactive child, so I probably felt like a tick for David,\u201d Jackson told Us<\/em> of working with Hasselhoff, who played the iconic lifeguard Mitch Buchannon. \u201cYou know, he had beautiful chicks clamoring after him, and he\u2019s signing autographs, and he\u2019s the big man on campus, and I\u2019m like, tugging on his coattails, like, \u2018Hey, do you want to play? Do you want to surf? Can I eat lunch in your trailer?\u2019 [He was probably like] \u2018Gosh, this kid. I\u2019m like a 30-year-old guy trying to be a superstar,\u2019 so I probably drove him nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Jeremy<\/div>

\n Jeremy Jackson stars in 1997\u2019s \u201cBaywatch.\u201d<\/span> “All American TV, Inc.”\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite their early differences, Jackson said Hasselhoff, 72, became \u201clike a big brother to me\u201d over time. \u201c[There were] lots of practical jokes, lots of play, lots of fun. But he really reached out, extended a hand, you know, going over to his house and hanging out with him and stuff like that. And now later, it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d he shared. \u201cWe\u2019re both sober for some years, and we exchange daily readings and supportive text messages and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson is one of many cast members opening up about the highs and lows of their Baywatch<\/em> experience in the new Hulu docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"Jason<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Blast From the Past! Jason Momoa, More Stars You Forgot Were on ‘Baywatch’<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tMalibu Beach was one star-studded destination! Baywatch made David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson and more actors household names in the \u201890s, but several celebrities appeared on the popular drama before making it big in Hollywood. Jason Momoa, for one, looked unrecognizable compared to his modern-day scruffy self when he debuted on the series as Jason Ioane [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBelieve it or not, it was a huge group effort to do this,\u201d he told Us<\/em> of the docuseries, in which he discusses his struggles with addiction. \u201cI mean, over five years, we went through COVID. We went through people getting cancer. I almost killed myself getting in shape five years ago for the shoot that never even happened. As soon as we just kind of went with the flow, it fell together. It fell together in a way that was better than really anybody could have planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n