{"id":294731,"date":"2026-02-21T06:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T06:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/294731\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T06:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T06:29:07","slug":"even-stephen-amell-had-to-chase-after-baywatch-series-lead-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/294731\/","title":{"rendered":"Even Stephen Amell Had to Chase After \u2018Baywatch\u2019 Series Lead Role"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tStephen Amell<\/a> can easily understand why more than 2,000 actors packed the lobby, ballroom and halls inside the Marina del Rey Marriott on Tuesday hoping to land a part on the Baywatch<\/a> reboot for Fox<\/a> and Fremantle<\/a>. He had to chase down a role, too. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt was just a week ago that Amell\u2019s casting<\/a> was revealed, and it will be a quick sprint to a March production start in Venice Beach and on the Fox lot in Century City. With showrunner Matt Nix at the helm and McG on board to executive produce and direct the first episode, the series will find Amell starring as Hobie Buchannon, the son of David Hasselhoff\u2019s Mitch Buchannon from the original. Hobie\u2019s world is turned upside down when Charlie, the daughter he never knew, shows up on his doorstep. She\u2019s eager to carry on the Buchannon family legacy and become a Baywatch lifeguard alongside her dad.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile hundreds of hopefuls were waiting to be seen by Fox casting directors \u2014\u00a0many of whom were decked out in red swimsuits with a few even carrying rescue cans just in case \u2014 Amell talked to The Hollywood Reporter about how wild the open casting call was, why he chased down the role and how he\u2019s preparing physically but also mentally. \u201cNo matter how hard I work, we are going to cast someone in their early 20s on this show and they\u2019ll be able to roll out of bed with an eight-pack and there\u2019s not a thing I can do about it. I\u2019ll focus on having other strengths. I\u2019m the veteran, the old guy,\u201d said the Arrow star.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a big Baywatch day. How does it feel to be here?<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is where the rubber hits the road in terms of it being real. You chase a job for a long time \u2014\u00a0I think someone told me about this in November \u2014\u00a0and here we are in mid-February. Once you actually get the job, you have a moment where you go, \u201cFuck, what am I going to do now?\u201d All of this stuff kind of helps. No pun intended, but I\u2019m now dipping my toes in the water, so to speak. <\/p>\n

\n\tSo you really had to chase it?<\/p>\n

\n\tOh yeah.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy did you go after it?<\/p>\n

\n\tI heard wonderful things about [showrunner] Matt Nix. That\u2019s first and foremost for all of my jobs in television. My closest and most important relationship outside of the cast has been with the showrunner, and I\u2019ve been blessed in my career to have a bunch of great ones. All the reports that I got about Matt were terrific. Then about the actual series, it\u2019s an iconic property. People kept asking me about it. It turns out that Jessica Lowrey, a director friend of mine, is directing the second and third episodes. She and I were at a dinner and she said, \u201cSo what about Baywatch?\u201d I said, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d That was in December. I did a tape and put myself in the mix. The rest is history.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt must make it that much more exciting when you chase a project down like that.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor sure.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s the prep like to get ready to be shirtless on the beach?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe prep is to think about sustainability. I don\u2019t want to trick my body into looking a way that I can\u2019t deal with, especially if I\u2019m having to get in the Pacific Ocean in March when it\u2019s like 58 degrees or something. The big thing for me at this age is nutrition \u2014 really nutrition and then consistency in the gym. And then understanding that no matter how hard I work, we are going to cast someone in their early 20s on this show and they\u2019ll be able to roll out of bed with an eight-pack and there\u2019s not a thing I can do about it. I\u2019ll focus on having other strengths. I\u2019m the veteran, the old guy.<\/p>\n

\n\tAging is brutal, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\n\tTime waits for no man.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMatt Nix, David Chokachi, Stephen Amell and McG at the Baywatch open casting call at Marina del Rey Marriott on Feb. 18, 2026. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Archuleta\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen your casting was announced, you posted something really beautiful <\/a>about this show and how filming in Los Angeles adds a \u201cdeeper layer of meaning.\u201d What does it mean that Baywatch will be based here and employ a lot of people at this moment in time?<\/p>\n

\n\tI mean, that is where the pressure could lie. I think that 100 percent of my focus is just being in service of the show because being in service of the show is being in service of all of the things that you just mentioned. A show that honors first responders in California, a show that is going to employ a lot of people in California. I think that I could go the rest of my career and probably not experience a day like today where you have thousands of people coming out to audition for a show that hasn\u2019t shot a day yet, just because they like the property. But I think more than anything, because people love the idea of production in California, it\u2019s where it should be. And I don\u2019t want to speak ill of any other production because that\u2019s not the point. Good for anyone that shoots a day on any production. But occasionally you\u2019ll see a show that\u2019s set somewhere and you\u2019re like, no, that\u2019s not Chicago, or that\u2019s not California, or what have you. So it\u2019s really, really just very, very blessed and filled with a great deal of gratitude that I get to put my attention to my efforts and my service towards a project like this.<\/p>\n

\n\tWalking in here today \u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s wild.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt is. And seeing all these hopeful young people \u2014 and some older people, too \u2014 does it take you back and make you think of a young Stephen Amell trying to break into the business?
Oh yeah, man. I almost auditioned for Canadian Idol back in the day. Yeah, Canadian Idol. No, it\u2019s really special because here\u2019s the deal: I\u2019m 100 percent positive that not only is this open casting call going to bear some fruit in terms of people who you will eventually see on the show, but some of them, whether it\u2019s on this project or another project years from now, this opportunity will be a catalyst. They will be standing where I\u2019m standing two, five or 10 years from now. I\u2019m positive that will be the case. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhen you got cast, did you go back and watch old episodes of Baywatch?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Baywatch Instagram account followed me, so I\u2019ve watched a couple of clips. But until we get this on its feet, I got to stay away. Although, we were in Austin this summer and we went to this really old-school waterpark. I took my daughter into this super \u201880s cafeteria to get her a burger, and Baywatch was playing in the background. This was well before I knew anything about this opportunity, and she turned to me and asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s that show? It looks fun. I want to watch that show.\u201d So maybe we\u2019ll watch it together.<\/p>\n