“There’s always an obstacle to great things,” Pamela Anderson said, recalling how the script for “The Last Showgirl” almost slipped through her fingers.
Gia Coppola, the film’s director, had watched Anderson’s 2023 documentary, “Pamela, a Love Story,” and recognized in the “Baywatch” star “a woman aching to express herself as an artist, and just brimming and bursting at the seams,” Anderson said.
But the actress’s now former agent turned the role down without her knowledge. So Coppola went to Anderson’s son Brandon Thomas Lee, who saw a part his mother would excel in. And she did. The drama, about a veteran Las Vegas dancer whose show abruptly closes, has earned her critical acclaim and her first Golden Globe nomination.
“I think being a part of pop culture is a blessing, but it also can be a little bit of a curse,” Anderson said. “You start at a deficit, so you feel like you have to explain yourself so much before you even get the opportunity to transform.”
Anderson called “The Last Showgirl” healing after raising two sons while being objectified and often devalued in her career.
“I felt like all of my life experience was worth it because I was able to bring it into this character and then step away from it and think, OK, I can let that go now,” she said.
In a video call from Los Angeles, a barefaced Anderson — who lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia — elaborated on being immortalized by Jeff Koons, the draw of the women in Ingmar Bergman’s films and what she called Pam’s Chop Shop.
These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
‘Persona’
“Persona” has touched me so profoundly. It’s such a beautiful film about transference. And I feel myself merging with these Bergman women — physically, emotionally, artistically. I start taking on characteristics, the way the women are so closely examined.
Carl Jung
I was reading “Memories, Dreams, Reflections” as a young girl, which is kind of an odd book to have as a teenager when you’re not studying psychology. I think it started with dream interpretation and got more into the unconscious and the psychological. And I loved it. I thought maybe I should be a therapist. Imagine.
The Criterion Channel
I’ve always been a cinephile. I watch every night before I go to bed. I love Godard and Fellini and Herzog and Cassavetes. And Gena Rowlands — she’s my favorite actress.
William Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence and of Experience’
The “Innocence and Experience” poems are really interesting because that’s what we dance between — our imagination and reality. I write poetry, too. I think what says a lot about people is their library.
Titian’s ‘Diana and Actaeon’
I used to go to the National Gallery with Vivienne Westwood, and she really loved this painting. When I see it, I think of how female friendships are so powerful. It may sound cliché to mention the Mona Lisa, but it reminds me that every woman is a movie. That isn’t a smile or a grimace, but a mystery that draws us in.
Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons used to put me in a lot of his paintings. I mean, a lot of my body parts were in his paintings. I remember his mother would show me around at Art Basel in Switzerland and say, “This is your arm, this is your leg, this is your hair.” I was like, what? Jeff Koons is the one who told me every time you leave the house, it’s like performance art. You are an artist.
Montmartre
The first time I visited Paris, I had a humble apartment in Montmartre, and I wandered and had my picture drawn in charcoal. Then I’d go to Sacré-Coeur and light candles after my espresso and dark chocolate. I continue the tradition. Walking by Dalida’s house always makes me cry. Fame, love and its torture is not for everyone and can be too much to bear.
My 1980 Ford Pickup Truck
I love collecting old cars. I’m looking for an El Camino right now. My dad gave me his old two-tone brown Ford 80. I painted it white. I redid the engine. On the island, I’ve got this garage and I say, “You can call it Pam’s Chop Shop.”
Yves Piaget Roses
Yves is my favorite rose. I have 75 I planted myself and they all lived. I just received a beautiful note and a bunch of Yves Piaget roses in my hotel room for my Golden Globe nomination from Piaget. They’re so fragrant and deep pink. I always think roses are more beautiful when their petals fall.
Patti Smith
I love her book “Just Kids,” and I love the Chelsea Hotel. We actually did a luncheon at the Chelsea Hotel for “The Last Showgirl.” Something about that hotel, it feels magical to me. It’s funny. I’ve been wanting to get ahold of Patti Smith for some time, and I just received a message from her that she would love to meet me. So I’m very excited about that. I think she’s amazing — the epitome of cool.
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