“Splash” star Daryl Hannah remembers his time filming the iconic film for its 40th anniversary.
Hannah admitted in an interview with People that she felt uncomfortable starring in one of her first films.
“Oh my gosh, it's so embarrassing,” she told the outlet. “I was really naive.”
Hannah played overland mermaid Madison who falls in love with Tom Hanks' character Allen in the fantasy romantic comedy directed by Ron Howard.
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“Splash” star Daryl Hannah admitted she was “really naïve” while starring in the film, one of the first in her career. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
The 63-year-old admitted she was embarrassed to kiss Hanks and continued to skip the moment during rehearsals.
“Once you do it once, it's easier to do it the next time,” he said. “But that first time, when you don't know someone and you have to kiss them, it's very embarrassing. At least for me, it was.”
Hannah was also “really anxious” about some of the scenes in which her character had to appear naked in the water and on land.
“I traveled a lot around the world, but at the same time I was very protected,” the Chicago-born actress told the outlet. “She actually hadn't had a boyfriend yet… So she was incredibly eager for any nudity.”
Hannah said she avoided kissing during rehearsals with Hanks because she was shy and it was “very embarrassing.” (Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy: Everett Collection)
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According to Hannah, Howard and production “came up with the idea of having my hair cover my boobs” to keep things PG “because they didn't want me to have any kind of, I don't know, swimsuit top or anything, which I understand.”
She added that for the underwater scenes, “I would just make sure I had my hair taped to my breasts.”
Director Howard told People that Hannah was “very relaxed about the nudity thing” and “understood that it was something we needed to do for the movie. But she understood her character as a creature, a very natural, organic, person.” free spirit”. creature. And she made so many things possible. She was amazing.”
He also noted that the production team used “a bandage or some kind of paste or something that was stuck to his chest” to keep things familiar and “then they would glue his hair to that. So wherever he swam, the hair would always be there.” over there”. there, but she wasn't too worried about it.”
Ron Howard and Hannah recalled that the team came up with the idea of having her long blonde hair cover her mermaid character's chest. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Hannah even joked about the scene where she had to bare most of her skin, when her character leaves the ocean for the first time and approaches a group of New York tourists.
“When I'm at the Statue of Liberty, you see my butt,” he said. “But then again, everyone has a butt! So I guess it's not that bad.”
Nudity wasn't the only awkward filming scenario Hannah found herself in.
Hannah confessed that her mermaid tail was “very heavy and put pressure in places where it shouldn't have pressure,” adding, “Almost every day, my feet came out bloody and stuff.”
Hannah recalled that her mermaid tail was “incredibly painful.” (Buena Vista Pictures, courtesy of the Everett Collection)
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Because the tail costume was “incredibly painful,” Hannah said she often opted to remain half-submerged in water during lunch on set.
She told the outlet that Hanks and his co-star John Candy “would come over and leave fries in my mouth.”
Despite the discomfort, Hannah said, “I loved filming the whole thing.”
She even channeled her inner mermaid and happily spent time alone in the water while filming on an island in the Bahamas.
Hannah posing for a portrait on the set of “Splash” circa 1984. (Michael Ochs Files/Getty Images)
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“He was absolutely fine,” Hannah recalled. “Even when I accidentally swam too far in the wrong direction and a safety diver couldn't reach me, I didn't panic. When I'm underwater, my blood pressure is already low, but my heart rate drops even more.” “I can hold my breath for years.”
Hannah also had encounters with underwater animals and creatures.
“I had a pilot fish following me thinking I was the real one,” the “Kill Bill” star said. “The barracudas would hang out under the boat and watch everything that was going on. I used to think that barracudas were really scary. And after that, I realized that they are super friendly, curious and fascinated by everything. They never attacked to anyone or anything.”
Playing a mermaid also came easily to the “Roxanne” star after growing up loving swimming and letting her imagination run wild.
Despite the discomfort she experienced, Hannah said she “loved filming everything.” (Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)
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“For me, wanting to make movies was wanting to disappear into real fantasy worlds, into different realities,” he told People. “It's like a role I had practiced throughout my childhood, as I'm sure many girls have. We were lucky enough to have a pool when I was young, so I spent all my time basically underwater, pretending.”
“Splash” was a box office success and earned an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for best motion picture, musical or comedy.
