When people say the name Pamela Anderson, you might think about her Playboy beginnings or sultry turn as C.J. Parker on the lifeguard series “Baywatch,” but now, the Canadian model and actress is looking to change the perception of her built in many people’s minds. Her determination to do so, she shared in a recent interview with Variety, comes after two decades of deep, emotional struggles.
“I look at it now and it feels like I went from ‘Baywatch’ to Broadway,” Anderson said, recognizing her run as Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of “Chicago” as a turning point for her. “I don’t know what happened in between, it’s all a big blur. I am just happy to be here, in this moment, because I think I have had depression for a couple of decades.”
Anderson went on to discuss how Rob Marshall, who directed the Oscar-winning film adaptation of “Chicago,” approached her personally for the role of Roxie on Broadway. It came at a time where Anderson desperately wanted to take control of her own narrative, as infamous past stories around her marriage to drummer Tommy Lee began resurfacing due to the Hulu limited series “Pam & Tommy.”
“I’ve never seen it, don’t know anything about it, and I had nothing to do with it,” Anderson said of the series. “But producer Barry Weissler called me again, saying: ‘Pamela, I know you are capable of so much. You are not going to go down this way.’”
Part response and part self-reflection, Anderson worked with documentarian Ryan White to tell her own story in the Netflix film “Pamela, a Love Story.” The documentary received two nominations at the 75th Creative Arts Emmys, but more importantly, it got the attention of Gia Coppola, who was looking to find a star for her Vegas-set drama, “The Last Showgirl.” Anderson is receiving awards buzz for her performance and has already earned the Golden Eye award at the Zurich Film Festival this past week.
“I transformed and that was my intention,” said Anderson of taking on this daunting role. “Before, I remember thinking: ‘This might be my only chance. I might never do another movie.’ There is a scene of a breakdown, when I rip my costume off. I went to Gia, saying: ‘I am ready. I am ready now’ It was one take.”
For Anderson, reigniting her career isn’t so much picking up where she left off as it is continuing a journey she’s been on and needs to see through. She said to Variety, “I just want to know what I am made of. There is never enough time, so why not just go for it?”
Roadside Attractions acquired the U.S. distribution rights to “The Last Showgirl” following its premiere at TIFF, but no release date has been set.
