By Jenna Zucker
TORONTO (Reuters) – Pamela Anderson portrays a veteran Las Vegas showgirl forced to confront an uncertain future when she suddenly finds herself out of a job in “The Last Showgirl,” a heartfelt drama that made its premiere on Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival.
A story about what goes on behind the bright lights of Vegas, the film stars Anderson as Shelley, a 50-year old dancer who must reinvent herself when the floor show in which she performs suddenly closes after a 30-year run on the Strip.
Supported by a cast that includes Dave Bautista and Jamie Lee Curtis, Anderson took on the challenging role after last year’s Netflix documentary “Pamela: A Love Story,” which offered an intimate portrait of the “Baywatch” actor’s life and career in her own words.
“There was just a gut instinct about Pamela that I was compelled by, and then seeing her documentary really solidified that choice,” Gia Coppola, who directed “The Last Showgirl,” told Reuters at the premiere.
“I knew that no one else could play this role but her and add the same meaning,” said Coppola, whose directorial credits include 2013’s “Palo Alto” and “Mainstream” in 2020.
Anderson, a 57-year-old actor, animal rights activist and model, began her storied career in 1989 when she was discovered at a football game in her native British Columbia. That led to a modeling opportunity with Playboy magazine that catapulted her into the spotlight and opened the doors to her acting career.
Curtis, who plays a cocktail waitress and Shelley’s best friend in the movie, said working with Anderson was the main attraction for her.
“I did the movie because she was going to be in the movie,” Curtis told Reuters on the red carpet.
Curtis, who won an Academy Award in 2023 for her work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” said she had a scheduling conflict but was able to accept the role because the producers agreed to shoot all of her scenes in the first four days of the filming.
As for Anderson, she made a brief appearance on the red carpet on Friday, barely stopping for interviews.
“I love the way that she is walking through the BS of show business and saying, ‘I don’t need to play your game.’ I respect her for it so deeply,” Curtis said.
“I hope we will all have a newfound appreciation for her talents after they see the movie.”
(Reporting by Jenna Zucker in Toronto; Editing by Frank McGurty and Diane Craft)
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