‘Pretty Baby’ star was 14 while filming ‘The Blue Lagoon’ with co-star Atkins, who was 18
Four decades later, Brooke Shields takes a trip down memory lane with her “The Blue Lagoon” co-star Christopher Atkins.
During an episode of her iHeartRadio podcast “Now What?”, Shields and Atkins reunited and reminisced about the film, including how members of the production team hoped their relationship would develop.
“They wanted so desperately for us to fall in love with each other,” Shields remarked.
She went on to say that she “didn’t react well to being forced to feel anything,” since she hadn’t even really shared a kiss with anyone at such a young age.
Atkins then chimed in and said, “Which was probably great for the movie because that’s what it was about. You have to admit the chemistry between us was just amazing.”
“There were a lot of great, great moments that happened there and I think it was a lot of that innocence that came through in the movie that made it work even more,” said said Atkins.
Shields, 57, was just 14 when she filmed the 1980s classic, and Atkins, 61, was 18.
“The Blue Lagoon” tells the story of two young children shipwrecked on a tropical island paradise in the South Pacific. Shields and his on-screen love, Atkins, experience love, puberty, and sex while stuck together.
While Shields had a body double for the sex scenes, she previously described in her memoir how she and Atkins were encouraged to fall in love for real.
Atkins noted that he grew up in a conservative area and it was weird to be n-ked in front of people. He added that the directors asked the two tan n-de stars to avoid tan lines before filming on set.
Shields and Atkins recounted the harsh conditions while filming on set in the n-de – including injuries from swarms of insects, crabs, rats and horses.
‘Blue Lagoon’ was on an island that was on a coral reef…we were b-repied…wearing little bands of clothes…my hair was tied up to my body to cover the breasts, which were very minimal anyway,” recalls Shields.
“I don’t know what I was trying to cover. Remember the bumpy pads? They were sticking these little flesh-colored things on my nipples because the nipple was obviously where they drew the line in this movie,” she added.
Atkins said shooting n-de scenes at such a young age “was kind of a blessing and a curse”.
“I can’t tell you how many pictures I had to do with curly hair and wear that layer after that movie,” he laughed.
