Pamela Anderson Nearly Played the Original ‘Naked Gun’ Series’ Worst Character

While fans (and embittered directors) may be somewhat skeptical about the upcoming reboot of The Naked Gun, the movie does boast an impressive cast, including Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., CCH Pounder as the new Police Squad chief and Pamela Anderson as the femme fatale sister of a possible murder victim.

From what we’ve seen so far, Anderson, fresh off of receiving rave reviews for her performance in last year’s The Last Showgirl, seems to fit in perfectly with the seriously silly world of The Naked Gun. This makes sense, considering that she’s previously appeared in other ZAZ-style parody movies like Scary Movie 3 and Superhero Movie. 

But Anderson likely wouldn’t have gotten the gig had she starred in one of the original Naked Gun films, which, apparently, came very close to happening.

The Baywatch star recently spoke with Empire Magazine, and explained that she had a terrific time making the new movie with Neeson. “We just had a ball. I was always showering him with loaves of bread and cookies and muffins,” Anderson recounted. “There was a little book shop on the set, and he found this poetry book by Ibsen, and he was explaining to me a little bit about him. And then for his birthday, I got him a first-edition Hemingway. He’s always got a book in hand, and the same with me.”

Anderson also revealed that she nearly joined the Naked Gun-verse more than 30 years ago with a starring role in the third installment of the original trilogy, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult. “The part that Anna Nicole (Smith) played, I almost played,” Anderson stated. “It was just scheduling. I couldn’t do it. But it’s good: I’d rather play this role.”

In retrospect, Anderson really dodged a bullet — not just because the job would have likely prevented her from appearing in the reboot, but because the portrayal of Smith’s character, Tanya, was a franchise low point. 

In the movie’s third act, Tanya, the seductress girlfriend of a mad bomber, opts to seduce Frank. He’s mostly into it, until we see, via a shadow on the wall, that she has a cartoonishly large penis not unlike Gonzo the Great’s nose. This immediately causes Frank to flee in horror and vomit into a tuba.

The Naked Gun 33⅓ obviously wasn’t the only ‘90s comedy that perpetuated negative stereotypes about trans people, and the scene was clearly meant to be a parody of The Crying Game, which was released two years earlier. But the “joke” is compounded by the fact that, as some critics have pointed out, Tanya is never seen again after this moment. It’s as if her character only existed to tee-up a series of double entendres and one regressive visual gag.

The underwritten part also did a disservice to the late Smith, who, despite her lack of comedy experience, was actually pretty good in the movie.

It’s just too bad that Anderson wasn’t able to find a scheduling conflict to keep her away from Raw Justice.