David Hasselhoff.Photo: Jens Kalaene/picture alliance/Getty
David Hasselhoffis facing the future with hope and gratitude as he turns 70.
“At 70, life is just beginning for me,” Hasselhoff tells PEOPLE. “Seventy is about enjoying life as a person …. I’m reborn.”
As for his secret to well-being as a septuagenarian? “You can’t run, you can’t jump, you can’t fight — you can’t do all the things that you really want to do and I used to be able to do,” he says.
David Hasselhoff with wife Hayley at his 70th birthday party.Amir Kojoory
Still, the actor hasn’t slowed down. He recently found onscreen success overseas, starring as himself inZe Network, a German spy comedy.
“Doing a good job in my last series was really important to me because it’s so it’s soHoffthe wall, it is so bizarre — it’s definitely not for the Baywatch audience!” Hasselhoff says.
Through all his ups and downs in Hollywood, Hasselhoff has never abandoned his work ethic, which he says was only reinforced when he received some advice from music icon Sammy Davis Jr.
“I just do what’s in front of me and do the best I can, and it pays off,” Hassehoff says. “Sammy Davis Jr. told me that a long time ago. He said, ‘They’re not going to like you, how you act. They’re not going to like you because you’re tall and you’re thin and you’re semi good-looking’ — and he said with a laugh. But he said, ‘They’re never going to fault you for giving a hundred percent.’ And he was right.”
David Hasselhoff with Baywatch costars Jeremy Jackson, Parker Stevenson, David Chokachi and Kelly Packard.Amir Kojoory
And Davis wasn’t the only legend to offer some advice to Hasselhoff over the years.
“Paul Newman was a friend of mine. [Once], he said, ‘Hey, step into my trailer and let’s have a talk.’ I said, ‘You don’t like me? Why do you want to have a conversation with me?’ He said, ‘What? Why would you say that?’ I said, ‘Because you’re always angry. You always look like you’re pissed off when you’re around me and you’re just not a nice person.’ And he said he does that so that he doesn’t have to sign autographs!” Hasselhoff recalls. “And I had this great conversation with Paul Newman.”
Indeed, the actor still gets recognized in public often — and he’s learned to enjoy exploring incognito.
David Hasselhoff with former Knight Rider costar Rebecca Holden.Amir Kojoory
Now, after nearly 50 years in showbiz, Hasselhoff is focusing on the simpler things.
“I think the biggest goal in my life is just to stay healthy,” he says, “so that I can affect people in a positive way.”
source: people.com
