For most of her career, Pamela Anderson has been confined to the label of « sex symbol. »
Gracing many covers of Playboy magazine and making red swimsuits iconic, thanks to her role in television’s « Baywatch, » the 57-year-old actress says she has been « underestimated » by Hollywood but that she has been part of the problem, as well.
« I underestimated myself, too, » she said during Variety’s Studio, while appearing at the Toronto Film Festival this weekend to promote her upcoming film, « The Last Showgirl. »
« I think that you got to believe in yourself for others to believe in you, » she added.
PAMELA ANDERSON SAYS HER ICONIC ‘BAYWATCH’ SWIMSUIT STILL FITS: ‘I PUT IT ON EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE’
Anderson’s real life parallels her character in the movie; a Las Vegas dancer getting pushed out of the industry due to her age. Anderson says securing this large of a role this late in her career « came at the right time. » Last year, Anderson released her impactful documentary, « Pamela, A Love Story, » which delved into her personal life behind the camera, and showed a different side to the bombshell.
« Everything just came at the right time. The stars have really aligned. This feels like such a dream experience. And I watched the movie, I felt like it was a dream. Doing the movie, it felt like a dream. And now, it just also feels very surreal, like I’m going to wake up and this isn’t really happening, and then I’ll be really pissed, » she joked.
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« I feel so blessed and fortunate that I get this opportunity and chance to kind of have this life that I’ve thought I could have a long time ago, and just you know, things get interrupted, life interrupted. »
« Having nothing to live up to is kind of a good position to be in, » she joked earlier. « You can surprise everybody. Even with a full sentence, you’re a genius! . . . But no, it’s timing. I just think timing and having the capacity to focus. »
Gia Coppola, the director of the film, was asked why she believes Anderson has been passed over despite her longevity in the industry.
« I feel like being a beautiful woman, you get typecasted in a way. And I’m so drawn to actors, in general, that I feel like they have to express so much more and have so much more to themselves, but then get pigeonholed into this typecast, » she explained. « I like working with actors that really want that chance, because it becomes such a fulfilling collaboration. »
« Having nothing to live up to is kind of a good position to be in. . . . You can surprise everybody. Even with a full sentence, you’re a genius! »
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Coppola also spoke about how she nabbed the actress for her flick.
« I kind of came across a picture of her. I guess you were promoting your documentary, and there was this sort of gut feeling of, ‘Well, what about her?’ » Coppola said. « But I didn’t know too much about you at that time. And then my other cousin, Matt Shire, was like, ‘I know who your Shelly is. It’s Pamela. Watch her documentary.’ And I did, and I was like, ‘You’re absolutely right. Like no one else can be her. I have to go find her.’ »
Asking for permission from Anderson to tell the rest of the story, Coppola explained that she initially had a hurdle to overcome.
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« I submitted the script to her old agent, and it got turned down within an hour, and then, I was able to find a way through Brandon [Lee], your son, to get her the script, » Coppola added.
Anderson has since signed with a new agency.
« No one else could have played this role but Pamela, » Coppolla added.