First&Last The knightriding, baywatching, carpooling icon discusses hitting the water, getting rescued by cabbies and his part in ending the Cold War
First record you ever bought ‘She Wore Blue Velvet’ by Bobby Vincent: [sings] ‘She wore bluuuue velvet’ – either that, or ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ by The Beatles. Last extravagant purchase you made Some earrings for my girlfriend.
First film you saw that really moved you Lawrence of Arabia. Last lie you told [laughs] The last question!
D A V I D L H O F H A S S E F
Last time you exploited your position to get something About five minutes ago! I was trying to get out of the theatre, and people were following me along, asking for my autograph, and a cab came along, so I waved to him and pointed at my face, and he stopped and let me jump in and we sped off. ‘Hey, it’s Knightrider!’ ‘Yeah, thank you very much.’ That’s one of the good things about being recognisable – if you need a quick escape, the cabbies will take care of you.
First time you realised you were famous When I was playing Dr ‘Snapper’ Foster on the soap opera The Young
First movie you ever went on a date to Probably Jaws. It was a good date movie because the girl was freaking out and jumping in my arms. Last time you cried I was watching Scrooge before Christmas and was really getting into the Christmas spirit with my girlfriend, and I got a little choked up cos it was Christmas and I wasn’t at home.
First thing you do when you’ve got time off work Hit the water. Wherever I can go, I hit the water, whether it’s the ocean, or in LA it’s Zuma Beach in Malibu, I just hit the water.
Last book you read Actually, it was Did David Hasselhoff End the Cold War? I couldn’t believe it, I found this book at the airport: it’s 50 facts you need to know about Europe. I’m reading it to see how accurate they are. It’s pretty accurate, in a way: music like [his single] ‘Looking for Freedom’ was a big influence on Eastern Europe. They were singing ‘Looking for Freedom’ in East Germany when the Wall came down. First great piece of advice you were given Never give up and always be yourself.
Last time you were star struck I met Cary Grant once and I was absolutely star struck. I got his autograph.
First thing you’d do if you ran the country Every day that the sun came out would be a day off. Last meal on earth – what would it be Christmas dinner. I just love Christmas dinner.
First song you’ll sing at karaoke Probably [his single] ‘Jump in my Car’. 6 THE LIST 2 Feb–1 Mar 2012
and the Restless.
Last time someone criticised your work Hm. The reviews for the panto have been great, actually. My girlfriend told me not to hold the notes so long when I’m singing, it sounds really self-indulgent. She was right, actually. First three words your friends would use to describe you They would probably just say he’s got a great sense of humour.
Last time you made an impulse buy and regretted it My last car. First concert you ever attended Led Zeppelin.
Last time you bought someone flowers Yesterday. First object you’d save from your burning home Pictures of my children.
Last funny thing you saw online People responding to my Twitter. I did a contest – if you can name all the cities that I’m on tour in, you’ll receive two tickets and backstage passes. We got 1000 people! We were like, ‘Oh my God, how do we do this?’ We started laughing, then we realised we gotta give away a lot of tickets. First job Mowing lawns.
Last person you fantasised about Hah, we should go back to lying! It was my girlfriend.
First song at your (potential) wedding ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’.
Last song at your funeral ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of
Life’!
First person you’d thank in an award acceptance speech My father.
Last thing you advised someone Appreciate what you have.
First thing you think of when
you wake up in the morning
My voice, if I have one. When you’re working two shows a day, that’s what you think of. Then it’s usually, ‘Where am I? What country, what city, where am I?’ Last thing you think of before
you go to sleep
I can’t believe I have to get up in five hours!
■ David Hasselhoff was due to appear at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh on Sun 26 Feb but regretfully had to cancel. We hope to see him up here soon.