Christopher Atkins has claimed that his drinking cost him the lead role in Footloose, which was ultimately given to Kevin Bacon.
The Blue Lagoon actor reflected on his career during a recent appearance at Fanboy Expo in Knoxville, Tennessee, which celebrates pop culture and nostalgia, People magazine reported.
According to the newspaper, the 65-year-old actor said the makers of the 1984 classic had wanted to meet with him before making the final casting decision, but he was unable to make that happen.
“I was a mess at the time,” he said during a panel discussion, as quoted by People. “They brought me in because I was partying too much.”
“I said…’I can’t come in right now. I’m drinking and continuing to work,'” Atkins recalled. “Then they said, ‘No, they have to see you.’ And I auditioned, and I spectacularly failed that audition…I mean, it wasn’t even an audition, I had the role, and I messed up so much that they said, ‘Oh, we’re going to have to demote this person.’
“And I’ve been sober for almost 40 years, so that’s OK,” Atkins added.
During the discussion, the actor also reflected on his breakout role in The Blue Lagoon. The former teenage heartthrob was just 18 when he was cast opposite Brooke Shields in the 1980 film.
“I had never done anything before,” Atkins explained. “I never wanted to be an actor. I just wanted to play baseball. That was my dream.”
“I didn’t know what a camera was, I didn’t know what a mark was, I didn’t know anything, and I had to jump on a plane and fly to Fiji,” he said.
“I ended up modeling for Ford Modeling Agency in New York City, and I auditioned for ‘Blue Lagoon’…and I kept getting called, and then some more, and then months went by and I didn’t hear back…then all of a sudden I got another call.”
The “Dallas” alum said his “whole life changed” after the film’s release.
“Because we were young, we’re constantly exposed to this notoriety,” Atkins explained. “And the magazine needs you to sell the magazine, and then you’re hot. And it’s overwhelming… Sometimes when you’re doing an interview, you have to say the same thing to each person because people are lining up and you’re asking them the same questions.”
“But it changes your life, because all of a sudden you’re a nobody and you’re in every grocery store magazine.”
Back in 2025, Atkins told Fox News Digital that she “didn’t really know” the then-14-year-old Shields until she joined him on the set of “Blue Lagoon.”
“I was living on a boat off the coast of the island[where I was filming]…she hadn’t come yet,” he said at the time. “I had about a week left before she got here, and the director put a picture of her above my bed so I could start falling in love with her before the movie started. That’s how I met Brooke Shields.”
The film was controversial for its portrayal of a sexual relationship between two young characters. Shields and the film’s staff have long claimed that she used Kagemusha for her nude scenes and had her hair glued to her body to avoid exposing her breasts, People magazine reported.
“The crew were all Australian,” Mr Atkins said. “Back in the day, all the beaches in Australia…were topless. For Australians, it was very natural and free…and we were on a deserted island, so there were no tourists or anything. We were the only ones on the island…(and) these two kids, in a natural (and deserted) environment, didn’t wear any clothes. It would have been at the forefront of their minds and not something they needed to hide.”
“As time went on, not wearing clothes became more and more natural,” Atkins says. “The crew made it very, very easy. Director Randall[Kleiser]made it very, very easy.[The scene]was absolutely important to the movie, but it wasn’t grand. It wasn’t something that was prepared for the release of the movie. He wanted it to be as natural and real as possible, and I understood that and was sold on it.”
“By the time I finished leaving the island, four and a half months later, it was really hard to keep clothes on the beach,” he joked.
People magazine noted that critics have largely criticized the film. However, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The newspaper reported that the film grossed more than $58 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest grossing film of 1980.
Looking back on his Hollywood career, Atkins said he has no regrets.
“I reached a point in my life where I got married young,” he said. “I wanted to be a father more than pursue a business…When I was 16 years old, I was teaching sailing to young kids in Rye, New York. From that meager paycheck, I saved a dollar for when I had kids. That’s how much I wanted kids. When I had two kids, I did everything I could to put food on the table for them and keep a job.”
“I’m blessed,” he said. “At this point, I’ve been in over 100 movies and TV shows. Now my kids have kids too, which is pretty amazing…I’ve done everything in this business except making my own movies. That’s the last box I want to check right now…That’s what I’m chasing right now and I’m putting together some really good projects…so I have no regrets.”
