“One Opportunity Can Change Your Life”

One came from Arkansas, skeptical father in tow, because as a college senior who has never been to California, she wanted to dip her toes in the real world — or, Hollywood’s version of it — before graduating in May. A couple, high school sweethearts, flew to L.A. from Florida; she grew up loving the ocean and Pamela Anderson and he agreed to come along for their first-ever audition because he already had a six-pack and a memory of loving David Hasselhoff’s cameo in 2004’s SpongeBob SquarePants movie: “That lifeguard stuff was pretty funny.”

The Whalen sisters, one blonde, the other brunette, arrived at 5 a.m. after weeks of planning outfits (red one-piece swimsuits paired with denim) and filming content in the sand (including slow motion jogs). “We’ve been doing everything together since we were kids,” said the youngest sister, the blonde one. “And Baywatch has always been a dream of ours. This is our destiny.”

Luther, a 25-year-old from Oklahoma, came with no credits, no acting experience and no casting appointment, just well-maintained dreadlocks and a desire to challenge himself outside of a day job stocking shelves at a local supermarket. Another man, a working actor who stays busy with soapy dramas in the vertical space, stripped down to nothing but a pair of red, bulge-revealing Calvin Klein boxer briefs. “I loved Mark Wahlberg’s Calvin Klein campaign back in the ‘90s, so I wanted to bring some Marky Mark good vibrations to the audition with my underwear.”

The oldest of the bunch, a 77-year-old woman named Margaret Dupre, walked over from her houseboat in the marina to revisit a rather memorable time in her life, for better and worse. She claims to have worked on the original Baywatch TV series as Pamela Anderson’s stunt double after being discovered by the show’s co-creator, Michael Berk, while trying to commit suicide by drowning in the Pacific Ocean. Unlike those baring their bods in bikinis, board shorts or red Calvin Kleins, she wore a Burning Man-esque ensemble with fuzzy boots, tights, short shorts and a Barbie-pink corset covered in spikes because “it’s nasty and so am I.”

“I went into the water to dry and drown myself because my daughter was being separated from me and I was going to have to go to Australia without her. A huge wave came in, and I walked into the water with my mouth open. Michael Berk saw me and said, ‘Can you do that again?’” Dupre recalled of the shocking suicide attempt. “I ended up getting the job as a stunt person for Pamela Anderson and doing all the stunts she wouldn’t do. I jumped off the pier, got on the speed boat, and got my hair wet because Pamela didn’t want to. It was quite by accident.”

In all, more than 2,000 hopefuls descended on Marina del Rey, its local Marriott and nearby Mother’s Beach last week for the chance to audition for a part in Fox and Fremantle’s reboot of the iconic TV series Baywatch. The open casting call — once a regular Hollywood phenomenon and now a relic of pre-pandemic times as self-tapes and Zoom replaced in-person auditions — generated a tidal wave of interest with more than 14,000 applicants submitting headshots and resumés.

The appeal is obvious. The original Baywatch, which debuted in 1989 and ran through 2001, was an international sensation. At its peak, it aired in more than 200 countries and reached more than a billion viewers every week, according to Fox. Members of the cast, led by David Hasselhoff, became household names as Baywatch catapulted the careers of stars like Anderson, Jason Momoa, Yasmine Bleeth, David Chokachi, Carmen Electra and others.

Aside from recent examples like the pop culture phenomenon Heated Rivalry and its now red-hot stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, it’s been a while since the small screen churned out celebrities overnight. And a wide casting call opened the possibility that an unknown actor could walk through the doors of the Marriott in February, be on set when Baywatch starts shooting in March and be on television in a few months when the show debuts as part of Fox’s 2026-27 lineup.

In short: A star could be born on the sandy beaches of Southern California. Fox’s senior vp of talent and casting Brittainy Roberts was at the center of the swell. Her team edited the initial crush of applicants to a more manageable but still mammoth wave. “I worked at Disney previously and this has the vibe of old-school Disney Channel open castings,” she said. “I’m putting some of that experience to work here. The fever around Baywatch is hot, and this is the kind of show that lends itself to an opportunity like this. The turnout proves it.”

The turnout, it should be noted, represented a diverse group of actors across race, age and experience level. And while there were exceptions like Dupre, the majority seen making the rounds were in their 20s and 30s, and many admitted to not having seen the original series at all. “I consider myself a baby. I mean, I’m only 18 so I didn’t get to watch Baywatch, but I saw the movie recently,” said James Rodriguez, who traveled to L.A. for the audition from his home in Phoenix. He’s certified in open water rescue and since Arizona is drying out, he spends summers in SoCal to find work. “I love the cameras, I love all of this.”

That movie, 2017’s Baywatch starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, is the closest pop culture reference for many inside the Marriott, even though it was largely considered a box office disappointment after grossing a slight $58 million in the United States. It fared better overseas with $119 million for a cume of $177. “I only knew about the movie but my mother told me that it also was a show, so I asked her if it all correlates,” explained Oklahoma’s Luther Crenshaw. “She was like, ‘Yeah.’ So, I was ready to come and be a part of it. I’m here to give it all I got and maybe there will be some laughs in there.”

To pull it off, Roberts recruited a team of 20 casting directors. They set up a mix of casting spaces inside the Marriott’s conference rooms and ballrooms, using curtains as dividers in some instances. Appointments started at 8 a.m. and finished well past sunset. Hundreds lined up before dawn on a frigid Southern California morning attempting to snag a walk-in appointment while others tried to sneak in. Those with early morning slots were invited to participate in a group photo shoot and voluntary media interviews on Mother’s Beach where the energy was electric, even if they were all in competition.

“I plan to stand out by showing my personality, my vibrancy and my big smile. And, obviously, I am tatted so that’s another plus,” strategized Jozea Flores, 33, who flew in from Miami. A veteran of reality TV and former Big Brother contestant, Flores had sights set on making the often difficult transition from reality to scripted. “I’m ready to a make a bang. The appeal of a show like this, the magnitude of it, is huge. It can take you from here to an Emmy or an Oscar. You never know what doors can be opened by Baywatch.”

The couple from Florida — Hunter, 29, and Marlon, 26, of Tampa — traveled to L.A. even though she had secured a time slot but he did not. “She convinced me by saying, ‘Babe, you got the body, just go for it,’ so I figured why not. I’m very determined. I got nothing to lose.” Only fame to gain.

“You can go on a million auditions but one opportunity can change your life,” explained actress and singer Angel Peaches, 24, while wearing a green bikini set and platform flip flops.

But not everyone knew exactly what they were swimming toward. Days before the open call, Fox confirmed that Arrow and Suits L.A. star Stephen Amell had snagged a series lead role by playing Hobie Buchannon, the son of Hasselhoff’s Mitch Buchannon. Original series star David Chokachi is also confirmed to return as heartthrob Cody Madison in a recurring role. The storyline of the new season, created by Matt Nix, who will serve as showrunner and executive producer, follows what happens as Hobie’s world is turned upside down as Charlie, the daughter he never knew, shows up on his doorstep eager to carry on the Buchannon family legacy and become a Baywatch lifeguard alongside her dad.

Ahead of the big day, Fox casting distributed gender-neutral sides that allowed actors to pick one of two passages that featured either a newbie lifeguard eager to dive into the work or an angsty veteran with some choice lines of dialogue. “We’re looking for leads, and we just got a breakdown for the first episode’s guest stars. We’re looking for actors for the entire first season and it could be walk-ons, one-line parts, background actors, people who can deliver a line and those who look like they could be a SoCal, Baywatch kind of OG cast member,” Roberts explained.

During an interview inside the Marriott, Nix was quick to clarify that the Baywatch casting call was not a competition. “When the idea first came up, the big issue for me was that I didn’t want it to feel like a stunt. I felt that we actually needed to legitimately engage if it was going to work. And everybody was totally on board with that,” Nix said. “I just didn’t want it to feel like a contest or a competition to win a role on Baywatch. The truth is that we need to fill all sorts of characters on this show. We need people to rescue. We need people to fill the beach. We need lifeguards.”

They also need actors who also match the moment. Veteran multi-hyphenate McG, who is directing the first episode and executive producing the series, perfected SoCal vibes thanks to executive producing the beloved series The O.C. “We certainly aim to be respectful of where we came from but also cognizant that it’s a new day with new body types,” McG said. “There’s more of an emphasis on preservation and naturalism, and seeing people get out there on the beach for some vitamin D rather than stay glued to their screens.”

No word on whether the woman whose swimsuit could barely contain a BBL qualified as “natural.” Not everyone was stoked by the frenzy surrounding Baywatch that day. In a TikTok clip, one aspiring actress complained that actors were asked to do media interviews and promote a show before it appears on their IMDb. Still, it didn’t stop her from documenting the audition day and sharing it with half a million followers. (For the record, all media interviews were voluntary and the majority of those who gathered on Mother’s Beach for the mini press junket soaked up the attention. Some even approached journalists to offer interviews about their giddy day in the sun.)

Speaking of social media followings, casting directors caught some sparks early in the day, asking dozens to stay for follow-up auditions and interviews. One of those who got selected for multiple rounds of auditions was influencer Ian Boggs. The popular creator — who counts 2.5 million followers on Instagram, 14.9 million on TikTok and 18.6 million on YouTube — grew up watching Baywatch. When he moved to California for college, he subsequently landed a job as a lifeguard, meaning he already had a pair of red shorts in his closet.

Still, Boggs was “super, super nervous,” he told THR. The reason? “So many beautiful, buff, jacked and tall people here,” a shirtless Boggs said. “I don’t want to discredit myself because I work really hard, but there are a lot of beautiful people here; it’s so L.A.. But I’ve taken acting classes, I’ve done the work and I tried to personalize my audition. That was all I could do. To get to the next level of auditions is pretty cool.”

Others were getting noticed outside of the audition rooms. Nix said that when he and McG arrived and walked through the Marriott lobby — filled with hundreds of actors queued up waiting to audition or practicing lines in small groups — several people caught their attention enough for them to text Roberts and her casting team to look out for specific actors. “Look at this guy’s body right there,” McG interjected, pointing out a young man with bulging biceps and a tank top with “Lifeguard” printed in red. “We should interview that guy.”

One person eager to do interviews was Traci Park, a Los Angeles city council member representing District 11, which includes Venice. Baywatch will begin shooting in March in Venice and on the Fox lot in Century City, a coup for L.A. amid a production exodus that has crippled the city and left thousands out of work. “When I was first approached by the creators of Baywatch and presented with this opportunity, we were at risk of losing it to Australia or South Africa,” Park told THR while standing next to red lifeguard truck and wearing a blue L.A. lifeguard t-shirt presented to her that morning by LAFD. “For the last year and a half, we’ve been working on this by teaming up with L.A. County Beaches and Harbors, county lifeguards, [Mayor Karen Bass’s] team and our own parks and rec team so that we would all be in alignment to say yes when it came time to apply for tax credits.”

With tax credits secured and shooting scheduled to start, the casting call doubled as a celebration of keeping Baywatch in L.A. “Venice Beach has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. We were rated the most dangerous beach in America, and the butt of late-night jokes. I’ve been working on restoring safety and access to our city’s most iconic and top tourist destination. This is also an investment in our creative economy that has been limping along for the last few years, and it’s keeping an iconic brand that belongs in L.A. right here at home.”

Steps away from where Park was posted up doing interviews was Soraya Moss, a member of the Venice neighborhood council. Though she works as a software engineer by day, Moss has some acting credits on her resumé and decided to turn up and see if she could add one more. “The prompt for today was ‘professional and beachy,’ so I wore jeans and a white button-down but I have a swimsuit on underneath here,” Moss said, adding that there’s set to be so many high-profile events happening in L.A. and her goal is to be involved in as many as possible. “If something is happening in Venice, people who live in Venice should be involved.”

Pat “The Jaguar” Uland came down from San Francisco, accessorized with a deep bronze spray tan. A trained martial artist who works as a bartender at a yacht club in the Bay Area, said he bonded with his dad by watching shows like Baywatch, Fantasy Island and Magnum P.I. “I had a crush on Pamela Anderson when I was a kid, I can’t lie about that,” said Uland, 32, who explained he adopted the nickname “Jaguar” because it’s an animal that best represents him. And he was ready to pounce. “Having a good physique comes from good discipline, and when you have mental good discipline and you have physical good discipline, then you become an evolved person. I’m ready for this because of my leadership, tenacity, energy and positive presence. It’s a perfect role for me.”

Bella Pierce, the college senior who flew in from Arkansas with her father, said the show itself is an ideal reflection of human values. “I mean, it’s about lifeguards who are literally saving people’s lives. It portrays them in such a good light,” she noted. “And it’s crazy to watch the old show and think about how those actors went on to have huge careers.” Multiple people mentioned Jason Momoa as a prime example of how Baywatch could catapult one’s career. Momoa, who landed a breakout role on Baywatch Hawaii through an open casting call with more than 1,000 hopefuls, recently talked about lying to casting directors to get the part.

Roberts knows the lengths people go to get attention of casting directors. She admitted that she’s had family members reaching out about Baywatch, including those who aren’t even actors. “I’ve been getting emails to my personal account, phone calls, text messages, DMs, you name it,” she said. “Everyone is coming out of the woodwork. I had family members reach out to ask if they could audition and I didn’t even know they could act. I was, like, ‘OK, I’ll keep you in mind.’ But again, it’s exciting. I think there’s something deep down in all of us that dreams of one day becoming a star. I’m hopeful that we actually succeed and we find some stars in the making.”

A call back would’ve been enough for some. Cory Wharton, 34, another veteran of reality TV thanks to The Challenge, challenged himself by showing up and delivering his first acting audition ever. “I wanted to get out of my comfort zone a little bit, get in front of casting directors and try to get more exposure,” said Wharton, a father of three daughters. “I mean, there were so many beautiful people in there auditioning that it will be super hard but I think it went well. My biggest thing is energy and I was able to go in there and smile and vibe with them.”

Wharton was walking down the sidewalk leaving the hotel and had already come to terms with the fact that he may not get a call back but the experience was enough for him. “I’ll be fine if I don’t get it,” he said. “I just know I felt good, and I left there smiling.” Up next, stopping by his cousin’s place in Marina del Rey to say hi and grabbing a “little salad” from Cheesecake Factory. “I gotta keep the six-pack going no matter what.”

The nearby Sweetgreen, another hotspot for salads in Marina del Rey, is where THR found Andreas Alfaro. The 31-year-old was unwinding over a steak and rice bowl following the hectic morning. “It was such a crazy, chaotic, high energy, high vibe casting session — very Hollywood,” detailed Alfaro, who works as a trainer and stunt man. “I didn’t realize until I left the casting how drained I was. It was such a rush of getting in line, meeting all these people, figuring out where to go and doing all these interviews on the beach. It was crazy but a good experience.”

After lunch, it was back to business as usual. “I have some editing to do this afternoon, then I teach a workout class and after that, I will do martial arts training. It’s a full day,” he said. “You got to continue to go out about your life. You can’t be holding onto anything and waiting around for a phone call. It’s part of the game. One casting here, another casting there. I find the best outcomes is when you let go and let it come to you. The more you hold onto something, the more you’re anticipating and trying to pull it in but you end up pushing it away. It’s a push-pull dynamic.” Like the waves.