Why Baywatch child star Jeremy Jackson left Hollywood as his role is recast for reboot
Baywatch is set to return for an upcoming reboot, with a first look trailer releasing yesterday which featured Stephen Amell along his TikTok influencer co-stars Noah Beck and Livvy Dunne.
The TV show was the most watched series in the world in the mid-90s, catapulting David Hasslehoff and several of his co-stars to worldwide fame such as Pamela Anderson.
There are references to the old series in the new trailer, with Amell’s character Hobie revealed to be the son of Hasslehoff’s character Mitch Buchannon.
A few other characters, such as David Chokachi’s Cody Madison, will be returning from the original show, but Jeremy Jackson will of course not be returning to the role of Hobie as it is filled by Amell.
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Jackson was just ten years old when he was cast in Baywatch, actually beating out Leonardo DiCaprio to the role who was 15 at the time. Unfortunately however his life took a turn for the worse and he has faced legal troubles, eventually finding a new career totally separate from Hollywood.
Jackson quit Baywatch midway through the final season amid an ongoing drug problem that led to him cooking crystal meth at home, and was kicked off Celebrity Big Brother for a shocking incident
The actor, who played the young son of Hasslehoff’s Mitch, quit the show at 18 abruptly, stating in the past that he ‘got a big head and thought that [he] was better than Baywatch’.
Despite quitting midway through season nine, out of eleven total seasons, he still starred in the second most episodes of the series.
His drug addiction worsened, leading him from problems with marijuana to a dependency on crystal meth. He has stated in the past that he eventually learned how to cook the drug from gangsters in order to fund his habit, and has also revealed that he began his meth use during his final season of Baywatch.
Jackson was arrested at 19 for ‘possession with intent to sell methamphetamines’, serving 90 days in jail.
He later became addicted to steroids and went on Celebrity Big Brother: UK in 2015, though he was booted out three days later
Jackson was kicked off the show when a fellow contestant, model Chloe Goodman, came to check on him as he was throwing up in the bathroom, only for him to pull open her robe.
Producers called his behaviour ‘unacceptable’ and he said he had been ‘silly, bold and dumb’ during the gross incident. He was given a police caution for common assault.
The actor was jailed in 2015 for a double stabbing incident but has since quit Hollywood and works as a life and recovery coach
The low point of his career was arguably still to come after he was booted from Celebrity Big Brother as he was arrested twice in 2015 for two separate stabbings, later receiving a 270-day jail sentence and five years of probation.
The Big Brother house was his last time on TV and and he has revealed in recent interviews that he went sober for 13 years at 20, relapsing at 33.
He is now sober again, stating that his support of others through their struggles with sobriety helps him with this. Speaking to WOLFpak in 2024 he said: “As long as I'm making sure I'm always prepared to pull somebody else out of the fire, I prevent myself from jumping back in.”
He spoke about his adoption of the ‘warrior mindset’ and said: “I will not leave the trenches of the people who I can help for some self-fulfilling prophecy of more money.
“I will take less as long as I'm more useful and effective in my community.
“Right here, right now, I do feel more comfortable in my skin than I've ever been.”
Topics: TV and Film, TV, Celebrity, Nostalgia
Michael Slavin