Leonardo DiCaprio was almost part of the original cast of 'Baywatch'

At just 15 years old, the actor was very close to appearing in the series.

Next year the film adaptation of Baywatch will hit our screens, this time starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. The original series, which had eleven successful seasons between 1989 and 2001, and also made Pamela Anderson a star and s-x icon of the 90s, could have also had another unexpected member: a young Leonardo DiCaprio.

In a special article, The Hollywood Reporter has delved into more details about this revelation. Thus, DiCaprio, who before starring in Oscar-winning films began his career on the small screen (how can we forget his participation in Growing Problems), was cast at the age of 15 for the role of Hobie Buchannon, son of Mitch Buchannon ( David Hasselhoff).

However, his participation in the series was cut short. Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz, producers of the mythical television fiction, have confirmed that, although DiCaprio was ready to be part of the cast, nothing came to fruition due to the refusal of David Hasselhoff, protagonist of the series.

David believed that he was too old to play his son. David thought he would make him look older. He had a lot of concerns like that," Schwartz said.

Despite the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio did not finally get the opportunity to appear in the series (the role of Hobie would be played by 9-year-old Jeremy Jackson for 159 episodes), his career did not stop. In 1993, the actor starred opposite Johnny Depp in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Four years later, he got into the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic, a film that broke all records and remained the highest grossing film until 2009, the year in which it was dethroned by Avatar.

DiCaprio wasn't the only one who had to suffer due to Hasselhoff's strong influence on the series. The German-born actor also tried to stop the signing of Pamela Anderson in the series. "She had huge breasts, and David believed that she would be upstaged, because everyone would be looking at her breasts. Which is what happened," Schwartz said.