David Chokachi talks about starring in ‘After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun’

David Chokachi in ‘After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun.’ Photo Courtesy of ABC News Studios.

Actor David Chokachi chatted about starring in the Hulu documentary series “After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun.”

The synopsis is: “After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun” is a nostalgic exploration of “Baywatch,” the cultural phenomenon that defined an era, and an unprecedented look into the stars who brought the world’s most famous lifeguards to life.

Through dozens of new cast interviews and never-before-seen footage, this docuseries unpacks how the show captured the mythology of California’s beach culture, set physical beauty standards for an entire generation, and capitalized on the adage “sex sells.”

Aside from Chokachi, the actors interviewed for this documentary included David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson (in a rare interview), Alexandra Paul, Yasmine Bleeth, Carmen Electra, Michael Newman, Jaason Simmons, Parker Stevenson, Gregory Alan Williams, Jason Momoa, Erika Eleniak, Billy Warlock, Jeremy Jackson, Kelly Packard, Brande Roderick, Traci Bingham, and Nicole Eggert (who served as a producer on the documentary), among others.

‘After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun’

On being a part of “After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun,” Chokachi remarked, “It was awesome. We started in 2019, and that’s when I did my first interview.”

“Our director, Matthew Felker, put a lot of hard work and a lot of his own money into this docuseries. We shot additional footage for it up until last July. We shot various additional interviews and B-roll from 2019 through 2024,” Chokachi said.

Chokachi continued, “It was really awesome because it brought a lot of the cast together, who didn’t work together. We knew each other but we didn’t have scenes together. The reunion was so much fun, and we’ve done a lot of press events together as a cast the last few months to promote the documentary.”

“They interviewed 37 cast members for this project, and we gave them all of our home video and VHS tapes,” he said.

“Back in the day, the press in the United States never gave us a fair shot,” he noted. “The U.S. press was constantly bickering about it, and the business itself didn’t view us as real actors because we were on ‘Baywatch.’ I always said: ‘we were never doing Shakespeare, we were doing ‘Baywatch,’ a show about lifeguards at the beach.”

“There were so many positive aspects about the show itself, and everywhere else around the world, they embraced this show, and they just loved ‘Baywatch’,” Chokachi acknowledged.

Resurgence of ‘Baywatch’ during the COVID pandemic

Chokachi noted that there has been a resurgence of the show during the Coronavirus pandemic.

“I feel like there has definitely been a resurgence of the show,” he admitted. “During COVID, a lot people started watching ‘Baywatch’ again.”

“As a result, Freemantle, the company that owns the rights to it, saw a huge uptick in international viewership around the world, and the recent document will certainly help chances for a possible reboot happening,” he elaborated.

Younger actors in ‘After Baywatch’

Chokachi praised the younger actors Nikolay Koltsov, Justin Baraglia, and Colin Seifert for playing the younger versions of the lifeguard actors in the Hulu docuseries.

“Nikolay is a super cool guy; he looks like my younger brother,” Chokachi said. “When people came to the press event, we were joking that Nikolay was my son, and they complimented us for looking so much alike.”

“Justin and Colin were also studs, good athletes, and super fit dudes as well,” he added.

Chokachi on his daughter and the Junior Lifeguard Program

A proud parent moment for Chokachi involves his daughter, Brit Madison, and the Junior Lifeguard Program.

“My daughter is in the Junior Lifeguard Program in the Los Angeles County,” he said. “She finished her fourth year, and that program was such an important part of my life.”

“We filmed about it, and I was hoping that part would have made the documentary, but it didn’t and I was bummed, but the rest of the documentary is really good,” he added.

Chokachi on ‘Baywatch’ co-star Michael Newman

Chokachi also praised his “Baywatch” co-star Michael Newman for being a fighter, especially in regard to his battle with Parkinson’s disease.

“Life happens to everybody, and you just never give up,” he said. “Michael is such a fighter and I commend him for his incredible spirit.”

Chokachi also complimented the show’s iconic theme song “I’m Always Here” (written and performed by Jimi Jamison) for being quite catchy.

‘Married Alive’ film with Bruce Reisman

Chokachi is looking forward to starting rehearsals on a new movie called “Married Alive,” which was written and directed by veteran director and screenwriter Bruce Reisman.

“This is probably the best script Bruce has ever written,” Chokachi said. “I love working with Bruce, he is an actor’s director. This is a great script, and we have such a great cast with Yancy Butler, Skye Coyne, and Aaron Fors, among others. Aaron is just amazing; he is so talented.”

‘Real Conversations’ with Jacob Young podcast

Chokachi shared that he enjoyed being featured on Jacob Young’s “Real Conversations” podcast on mental health. “Jacob is super cool,” he said. “We had a great time on there!”

Their entire informed conversation may be heard below.

Closing thoughts on ‘After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun’

For his fans, he stated, “I hope this documentary gives people a deeper appreciation and respect for both the actors and the show itself, especially in the United States, where they were so dismissive about the show.”

“While the show had its eye candy component, we were doing rescues on there,” he said. “As a result, we would get weekly letters from around the world from little kids saving their siblings from watching ‘Baywatch’ and mimicking the CPR scenes they had seen on TV.”

“I mean, how many shows can say they did that? I hope the documentary gives people a newfound respect for all the actors who went through the legacy of the ‘Baywatch’ show, and the show itself,” he acknowledged.

“To this day, ‘Baywatch’ is the best job I’ve ever done, and I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years now. I have nothing but love for ‘Baywatch’,” he concluded.

To learn more about David Chokachi, follow him on Instagram and visit his official homepage.

Read More: Review of “After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun“