The actor, 70, on falling in love in Cardiff, the necessity of vanity, fame in East Germany… and the best Hoff jokes
I found my wife while I was doing Britain’s Got Talent in Cardiff. She walked out of a bar with her sister and said: “Can I have an autograph?” I said: “You have a boyfriend?” She said no. I said if she gave me her number, I’d give her an autograph. I never use that line, but I just knew. It was love at first sight. I felt sick inside. I was like: “God, if this one gets away, you’re dead.” She’s 27 years younger, but it’s fine. I’m 27 years younger in my heart anyway.
The trick to staying young is hanging out with younger people. I try to keep current. I just did this thing with a YouTube sensation from Germany. Google called: “Will you do this?” And any time I get an opportunity to do something with social media, that will reach the kids, I’m in.
I’m vain, so I work out just enough to look good. Because it’s called show business. You can’t put on a show and look like s-h-i-t… I’ve seen friends of mine who’ve let themselves go. Good grief, man, get to the fucking gym!
The Hoff is an accentuated overegotistical version of me. I created him because when I was 50 years old a bunch of secretaries in Australia were sending emails with all these Hoffisms, like Bravehoff, Some like it Hoff, He’s Hoff the cuff…
There are even Hoff jokes. Like Hasselhoff walks into a bar and the barman says: “How you doing Mr Hasselhoff?” and he says: “From now on, I’m just The Hoff.” And the barman says: “No hassle.” That’s pretty freaking funny! So I went out and patented it. Don’t Hassel The Hoff. And bing and a bang and a boom, it’s made me millions of dollars.
My visits to East Germany were my Elvis days. Everyone knew me. I said: “How do you know me? Is it from that show where I talk to the car?” They thought I was fucking nuts: “You talk to a car?” They didn’t get Knight Rider because it was from the West. They said: “No, you are the man who sings about freedom.” And I said: “Well yes, I am.” I just went there to meet chicks. “I sing for freedom. Sure, I’d like to come home with you!”
You’ve got to be in charge of your own destiny. You can’t give it to your business manager or your agent. They won’t do it. And maybe you can do it better than them anyway. I realised that going through my divorce [from his second wife Pamela Bach]. I thought: “Wait a minute, why am I giving this guy a million dollars when I’m telling him everything to say?”
I don’t have any self-doubt. You just gotta deal with what’s in front of you and say: “How do I make this work?” Whatever I do, I just tell myself: “I am good.” And I am! I make myself believe it. Fake it till you make it.
Once you come into money, that’s it, you never want to be without it. It’s great. It’s everything I thought it would be. It’s freedom.
Knight Rider was a hit in so many places around the world. I was in a cab and the taxi driver says: “You’re my mentor!” And he was from Afghanistan. Seriously, I get that everywhere I go.
