Pamela Anderson has gushed over her ‘wonderful’ career resurgence following her acclaimed performance in The Last Showgirl.
The Baywatch icon, 57, revealed she’d been ‘feeling a kind of sadness’ during her break from acting before the role as a seasoned Las Vegas performer led to her being nominated for her first ever Golden Globe.
Pamela spoke about her ‘new chapter’ and first staring role in many years, during a rare UK TV appearance on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on Friday.
Recalling how her part in the movie came about, she told the host : ‘I was making pickles and writing a cookbook and making my life beautiful no matter what but I had this kind of sadness thinking I had so much more to give’.
‘So, when the script arrived I thought, ‘I am going to grab this part by the throat and do it.’
Speaking about her comeback, Pamela admitted she was ‘enjoying the moment’ and branded it a ‘really wonderful’ thing to be happening at this stage in her life.
Pamela Anderson, 57, has gushed over her ‘wonderful’ career resurgence following her acclaimed performance in The Last Showgirl
The Baywatch icon revealed she’d been ‘feeling a kind of sadness’ during her break from acting before the role as a seasoned Las Vegas performer led to her being nominated for her first ever Golden Globe (pictured in the movie)
Asked if see saw it as a new chapter, she said: ‘I hope so. There are lots of things in the works, so I am deciding what I want to do next. I want challenging roles, I want to transform and see what I am made of. I feel like I have only just scratched the surface.’
Discussing the film, she shared: ‘It’s a very relatable story and I had a lot of empathy for the character – I fell in love with her. It is a very touching and beautiful and not at all violent or exploitative towards women’.
Pamela continued: ‘We shot the movie in 18 days, which was wild. Playing Roxy in Chicago on Broadway was the warm-up for this role and I am so proud to be a part of it. I love independent cinema, and I can’t wait to do more’.
But while she may have missed out on a BAFTA nomination, but she is set for a key role at Sunday’s prestigious ceremony.
Pamela has not only bagged a front row seat for the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall but she will also present the gong for one of the night’s biggest award categories.
‘Presenting at the Baftas is a huge deal for Pamela,’ an insider has told The Sun. ‘In many ways she feels vindicated after years of being undervalued or mocked.’
‘While she didn’t get a nomination, Bafta bosses saw The Last Showgirl and knew they wanted her involved in this year’s ceremony somehow. Finally, after all these years, she is being seen as the great actress she is.’
After earning a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination, many were hoping Pamela Anderson would score her first Oscar nomination this year.
Pamela spoke about her ‘new chapter’ and first staring role in many years, during a rare UK TV appearance on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on Friday
Recalling how the role came about: ‘I was making pickles and writing a cookbook and making my life beautiful no matter what but I had this kind of sadness thinking I had so much to give’
Asked if see saw it as a new chapter, she said: ‘I hope so. There are lots of things in the works, so I am deciding what I want to do next. I want challenging roles, I want to transform’
Pamela’s latest role comes 33-years after she first shot to fame in Baywatch (pictured on the show in 1992)
Unfortunately, the actress’ name wasn’t called when the 97th Academy Awards nominations were revealed.
While some consider her exclusion a snub, Pamela herself insisted that she wasn’t expecting her name to be called at all.
‘Oh my gosh, it’s not something I ever expected. Doing the work is the win,’ she told Elle.
‘That’s what I like to do, and I think we can lose sight of that sometimes in this whole crazy awards season, but it’s nice to be recognised, and it’s all a bonus,’
The Last Showgirl marked her first starring role in many years, as Anderson added that she was more than happy with the accolades she’d already received.
‘I couldn’t imagine [it] anyway. I’m happy for the SAG nomination, that’s [voted on by] your peers. That’s really cool. This has been a long road promoting this film,’ she said.
She added that the success of The Last Showgirl is ‘the best payback’ after the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy, which chronicled the leak of her and Tommy Lee’s sex tape.
‘It’s just one of those things. It happened and now I’m here and so this is the best payback … I’m being seen and recognised for my work and not these tawdry moments,’ she said on Andy Cohen’s Sirius XM show Radio Andy.
The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 14th February 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.
(L-R) Ross Kemp, Pamela Anderson, Stephen Graham, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sean Hayes and Gracie Abrams
