Jeremy Jackson Recalls Being Cast in ‘Baywatch’ Over Leonardo DiCaprio

Jeremy Jackson beat out several famous faces to land his role as Hobie Buchannon on the hit show Baywatch — including the one and only Leonardo DiCaprio.

“I didn’t actually even know [about that until] many years later,” Jackson, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly at the premiere of After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun on Monday, August 26. The actor noted that when he auditioned for the show, he, DiCaprio, Jonathan Brandis and more child stars were often competing for the same roles.

“There’s a lot of kid actors who are about the same age, who were about that same cute, sultry [style with a] little edge,” he explained. “It was always head-to-head. So, you know, it’s just the one I got. It’s the luck of the draw.”

Jackson took over the role of Hobie from Brandon Call after season 1 of Baywatch in 1989 and remained in the role through 1999. (Baywatch ended its run after 11 seasons in 2001.)

“I was born to entertain, man. From 1 year old, you know, I was doing impersonations, dancing and singing. It’s all I ever wanted to do,” Jackson said of his early career days, noting that acting never felt like a “job” to him. “Baywatch hit it big, and then I went out and I was doing music touring and released an album. So, it was like a dream come true for me.

Jackson’s time on Baywatch cemented him as the show’s second longest-running cast member, next to his onscreen father, David Hasselhoff.

“I was a 10-year-old fatherless, hyperactive child, so I probably felt like a tick for David,” Jackson told Us of working with Hasselhoff, who played the iconic lifeguard Mitch Buchannon. “You know, he had beautiful chicks clamoring after him, and he’s signing autographs, and he’s the big man on campus, and I’m like, tugging on his coattails, like, ‘Hey, do you want to play? Do you want to surf? Can I eat lunch in your trailer?’ [He was probably like] ‘Gosh, this kid. I’m like a 30-year-old guy trying to be a superstar,’ so I probably drove him nuts.”

Despite their early differences, Jackson said Hasselhoff, 72, became “like a big brother to me” over time. “[There were] lots of practical jokes, lots of play, lots of fun. But he really reached out, extended a hand, you know, going over to his house and hanging out with him and stuff like that. And now later, it’s beautiful,” he shared. “We’re both sober for some years, and we exchange daily readings and supportive text messages and stuff like that.”

Jackson is one of many cast members opening up about the highs and lows of their Baywatch experience in the new Hulu docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun.

“Believe it or not, it was a huge group effort to do this,” he told Us of the docuseries, in which he discusses his struggles with addiction. “I mean, over five years, we went through COVID. We went through people getting cancer. I almost killed myself getting in shape five years ago for the shoot that never even happened. As soon as we just kind of went with the flow, it fell together. It fell together in a way that was better than really anybody could have planned.”

He added: “I mean, from all the at-home footage that we collected. Thanks to the time we actually had, it became a real project piece, thanks to that time.”

After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun is currently streaming on Hulu.

With reporting by Mariel Turner