Brande Roderick calls her years on “Baywatch” “some of the best times” of her life.
Roderick, 50, specifically remembers filming the show's final two seasons in “magical” Hawaii and feeling like a “little family” with the rest of the cast.
“We're on an island where we only know each other,” Roderick told Fox News Digital. “And it really was like, you know, a gathering of friends and family every day. You just went out and frolicked in the water and swam and, you know, swam with Aquaman, Jason Momoa, you know. You can't ask for anything better than that.”
But she revealed that filming the series wasn't always all fun in the sun, adding that Hulu's new documentary, “After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun,” will reveal some of the private struggles the cast went through while playing the beautiful lifeguards.
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Brande Roderick calls her years on “Baywatch” “some of the best times” of her life. (Phillip Faraone/Wire Image)
“People who look at celebrities and see that whole 'Baywatch'-style beach girl lifestyle probably assume that, 'Oh, you know, everyone's life is perfect. ' And I think what they're going to find out is that everyone's life isn't or wasn't perfect and that there are, you know, struggles that they went through that, you know, the world might not have known about,” Roderick said.
“And I think that, you know, it will definitely shed some light. People will be vulnerable and really, you know, talk about their experiences, not just the experiences on the show. They're really experiences from their life during that time period of the '90s, early 2000s.”
She said she and other cast members always felt pressure to be the “perfect 'Baywatch' girl.”
“I even had a misconception when I booked 'Baywatch,' you know, they gave me the lead role, right? I thought, this is it.”
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““I think a lot of the cast members will talk about the struggle of having that image of being the perfect, fit Baywatch girl, whether you're a man or a woman,” she revealed. “Men went through that, you know, women went through that, because all eyes are on you, right? And when you come out of that, you know, in your 20s, 30s, whatever age it is, it becomes harder and harder to be fit, right? But I think that's something that people may not understand and realize that pressure that some people have to go through.”
Brande Roderick played lifeguard Leigh Dyer on “Baywatch.” (2000 Pearson Television/Newsmakers)
Roderick said her biggest misconception about “Baywatch” was that it would set her up for the rest of her career.
“Even when I got hired for 'Baywatch,' you know, I had this misconception that I got hired for the lead role, right? I thought I was already here. I had made it. And I was so wrong when they canceled the show and all of a sudden I was out of a job,” she told Fox News Digital. “And I thought that because I got hired for 'Baywatch,' the number one rated show in the world, that I was going to have it for the rest of my life, that I was never going to have to audition again. I was going to get so many jobs. And that was a rude awakening. That's not how this business works.”
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“So, you still have to go out and work and fight to achieve it. And I think people might think, 'Oh, once you do something like that, your life is easy.' But it's not. Absolutely not.”
Broderick recently made her directorial debut with the horror film “Wineville,” which she said was a challenge while also producing and starring in the film.
Brande Roderick and Carmen Electra in 2013. (Denise Truscello/WireImage)
““I was wearing all the hats and putting out fires all over the place,” she said of the 1970s-set film. “Constantly. So trying to be back and forth and meet all the needs of everyone, all the crew, all the actors, as well as trying to be prepared to do a scene and, you know, be behind the camera, it was a lot. It was definitely a lot. But I will say it was a big dream that I always wanted to make come true. And I made it come true, and it was very exciting.”
He said the crew shot the film near the end of the pandemic, “so we had to overcome a lot of obstacles and we ran into them because of that, you know. For example, on the second day of shooting, our costumer got COVID.”
“She had to leave. We had to find somebody last minute who could, you know, understand what we were doing. And it was a '70s movie, you know, so it's not like we were wearing regular clothes. And this was based in 1978, and then of course we were trying to find all the '70s cars. There were a lot of challenges, definitely. But being a producer and putting out all the fires, that was the hardest part, while also trying to memorize my lines and direct at the same time.”
The actress said she has kept in touch with some of her “Baywatch” co-stars over the years, especially Carmen Electra, whom she still sees “all the time.”
Roderick with his former “Baywatch” co-stars Krista Allen and Stacy Kamano. (2000 Pearson Television/Newsmakers)
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““She's probably one of the people I've kept in touch with the most,” Broderick said.
She said the last time she saw Momoa, who she said was like a “little brother” to her, was about a year and a half ago at a fan signing.
“Jason is like a little brother to me, he's a very sweet and wonderful person and he has a huge heart,” she told Fox News Digital. “And he's still like that big kid. Even though he's a lot bigger now, he still has that sweet little boy personality. Oh, it was so sweet to see him. And the best thing was that my son came with us and he got to spend time with Aquaman and meet him, which was great.”
Broderick said he lost touch with his former co-star Pamela Anderson, whom he last saw when they made the film “Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding” together in 2003.
The “Starsky & Hutch” star said he's also fully on board with the show's planned reboot on FOX.
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“I have already spoken with [co-creator] Miguel [Berk]” she said. “I said, 'Michael, I'm ready to come to Australia and have some fun. ' So, it's definitely something I'm excited about and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.”
