David Hasselhoff interview
David Hasselhoff talks about his new British comedy mockumentary series...
Hi David. So in the show you play The Hoff?
My name is David Hasselhoff, some people call me The Hoff, some people call me Mr Hoff.
Hoff The Record is the most surreal experience of my life, it's almost as if I stepped out of my life and watched it being filmed, because everything in Hoff The Record has happened to me. But heightened, everything is blown out of proportion...
[In the show] I don't have just one ex-wife, I have five ex-wives, I have a German son, I have a nerdy manager, I've a personal assistant who's never been a personal assistant before, I have a driver who's completely insane and in love with me... it's kind of like I've fallen into this mad cap adventure of misfits.
Tell us more about your oddball entourage...
Our driver [Terry] played by Asim Chaudhry, is so naturally funny; and then Ella Smith comes in with the intelligent humour. Ella plays Harriet, my assistant who's never been a personal assistant to a celebrity before, which makes for a real eye opening experience, because your job is 24-7 when you are an assistant to David Hasselhoff! I don't hesitate, I'll call you at 3 o'clock in the morning and start talking.
Max [David's manager, played by Fergus Craig] and The Hoff go way back, it's a complicated relationship and it's very difficult to fire someone.
Doesn't The Hoff have a long lost son in the show too?
The show is so quirky and crazy that my son [Dieter] actually shows up in my bedroom and he says 'DAD!' and scares the hell out of me.
Mark Quartley, who plays Dieter, is a graduate of RADA and he is fantastic. He's a method actor, so he plays Dieter all day long, it's really funny, and when he goes back to Mark it freaks me out! Because I prefer Dieter, I've accepted him as Dieter.
Why do you think everyone loves The Hoff?
The Hoff is a loveable character; you love The Hoff because he believes everything he says.
He believes he actually brought down the Berlin Wall; of course I didn't, David Hasselhoff had nothing to do with the Wall coming down, ever, I just sang on the Berlin Wall.
He wants to be in film, he wants to do serious stuff, but he just keeps getting involved - not by choice - in ridiculous stuff; where he's wearing a red face and horns and then a sex scandal, and then Fathers 4 Justice.
What was filming 'Hoff The Record' like?
So there is a scene in Birdman, where Ed Norton and Michael Keaton spar with each other on stage about his play, trying to make it better. We did that every single day starting at 5 o'clock in the morning to 7:30 at night, whether it's on camera or off camera everybody was sparring and we found magic in this show.
You know I would never say it's as brilliant as Curb Your Enthusiasm, because that's just comic genius, but it's pretty funny!