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Despite the string of storms that have hit the Los Angeles region in recent days,<\/u> the skies cleared up long enough on Wednesday for thousands of aspiring actors to swarm a beachfront in Marina del Rey and take their shot at landing a role in the upcoming \u201cBaywatch\u201d reboot.<\/p>\n
The open casting call brought old Hollywood magic to Los Angeles, as the show intensified its search for raw and local talent, reminiscent of how original \u201cBaywatch\u201d<\/a> stars were discovered, said Brittainy Roberts, the vice president of casting at Fox.<\/p>\n The soapy drama series, which premiered in 1989 and ran for 11 seasons, followed the lives and relationships of lifeguards who patrolled L.A. County beaches (and later Hawaii). It was not only a hit stateside \u2014 internationally it was a success,<\/a> becoming the most-watched show in the world at the time. A film adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron was released in 2017, and despite negative reviews, it was considered a commercial success, signaling an appetite for more.<\/p>\n The casting team has \u201cbig bathing suits to fill,\u201d Roberts said. The show famously created a slew of stars, including Pamela Anderson<\/u><\/a> and Carmen Electra,<\/u><\/a> who got their start on the show, and catapulted David Hasselhoff<\/u><\/a> to new heights of fame.<\/p>\n Uncommon in a post-pandemic era<\/a> of self-tape auditions,<\/a> the open and in-person auditions attracted actors hungry for their big break and locals hoping to leave with a fun story to tell. Many donned \u201cBaywatch\u201d visors and sweaters while others sported bright red bathing suits, popularized by the original show. It was “an opportunity to really get people in the room in a large-scale way,” and allow “people an opportunity that maybe they aren’t getting in this new landscape of auditioning,” Roberts said.<\/p>\n The casting team saw live auditions from about 2,000 \u201cBaywatch\u201d hopefuls, and about 14,000 applications were submitted, said Joseph McGinty Nichol, known as McG, the reboot’s executive producer who will direct the first episode. His past projects include the “Charlie’s Angels”<\/a> movie and “The O.C.”<\/a><\/p>\n