Pam Anderson forced her agent to let her accept the lead role in her biggest flop

Those who lived in 1996 probably remember the debacle of David Hogan’s bizarre sci-fi action film, “Barb Wire.” It starred Pamela Anderson, who had gained worldwide fame for her performance in the hit series “Baywatch,” and the actress was ready to lead feature films. In what might be considered a puzzling move, she agreed to star in a supercharged adaptation of the “Barb Wire” comic books, created by Chris Warner and the CGW team and published by Dark Horse Comics, the same company behind the hit film “The Mask” from two years earlier. “Barb Wire” is set in the distant future of 2017, when the United States was being devastated by a protracted civil war. Barb was a stripper and bar owner who oversaw the Hammerhead, a secluded bar that served as the only safe and free place in the war-torn country.

The story saw Barb reunite with an old lover named Axel (Temuera Morrison) and his new girlfriend, Dr. Devonshire (Victoria Rowell). Axel needed Barb’s help to flee the country, hoping that their past would motivate her to get them the proper exit visas. If the story sounds familiar, that’s because “Barb Wire” is a dystopian, sci-fi, gender-flipped take on “Casablanca.”

As we now know, “Barb Wire” was a flop of epic proportions. It made only $3.8 million on its already modest $9 million budget, and it was criticized. Some felt that the film could have been more campy, while others felt that all attempts at emotion were melodramatic and stupid. It started showing up on lists of the worst films of all time. Of course, this is hardly the case. In fact, in hindsight, the film is wonderfully funny. However, in 1995, Anderson was all-in on “Barb Wire.” In a vintage Los Angeles Times article, Anderson said she took the “Barb Wire” job without seeing a script and against the advice of her manager. Perhaps it was reckless.

It’s worth noting that Anderson was still appearing on “Baywatch” when “Barb Wire” came out. In fact, she had already been in the series for three years at that time. But she seemed to feel it was high time to start branching out, or risk career stagnation. Anderson was a fan of the “Barb Wire” comics and thought it would be a fun, over-the-top character that she could run wild with. But Anderson’s anonymous manager felt that playing an over-the-top character would not be good for Anderson’s career and told him not to take the job. Anderson challenged him, saying:

“My manager wanted to refuse and told me: ‘You’re not going to play a cartoon character.’ […] But when I read the comic, I knew that no one but me could play this character. I agreed to do it without even seeing the script. I thought at this point in my career I was just lucky to be working, and Barb looked like as much fun as I could have in a movie.

Indeed, Anderson felt that Barb was personally close to her. Barb is a no-nonsense cartoon character who refuses to let the slimy men around her be cruel or rude. Early in the film, Barb kills a man with her high-heeled shoe for the crime of calling her “Babe.” Barb was a messy character, and Anderson could relate to that. She continued:

“Actually, she’s closer to me than anything I’ve ever done. I feel like I’ve worked my way into Hollywood, and I always get into trouble and do things wrong, but I eventually get to where I want to be, and that’s how Barb is. There’s an evil, twisted, dark vein in me that I can finally explore with this character.”

The LA Times article was published before the leak of a personal VHS tape she made with her husband, and “Barb Wire” was released afterward. With this in mind, Barb has become even more independent.

Aside from Anderson’s manager, no one felt that “Barb Wire” was ill-advised, and no one thought it was going to fail, either. Indeed, Anderson is nothing but positive about the film, talking about how much fun it is to be an action hero and how crazy it was to wear the weird costumes from the sci-fi film. Her co-star, Jack Noseworthy, who plays Barb’s little brother in the film, loved Anderson’s stage presence, and director David Hogan was impressed by her acting talent.

Anderson knew she was fighting an uphill battle with “Barb Wire,” understanding that most viewers would only see her as CJ, her “Baywatch” character. But Anderson felt that “Barb Wire” was strong enough to transcend any stereotypes. Indeed, it was the first project in a long time that she admitted to being excited about. Anderson said:

“It’s hard to have a moment on television with a character that people know, and then move to movies. I hope people see the ‘Barb Wire’ commercials and realize it’s not CJ on the beach. It’s something very different. It’s also something I’m proud of…and I never say that about anything I do. I hate pictures of myself and I never watch the shows I do. But I watched those dailies in thinking, ‘That looks damn good!'”

It’s a shame that “Barb Wire” failed. She was clearly a victim of the scandals in which Anderson found herself embroiled. The failure was unfair to her and to the film. These days, Anderson is widely acclaimed for her performances in films like “The Last Showgirl” and “The Naked Gun.” She is now living her best life. Maybe she still likes “Barb Wire.”