Maybe everything is bigger in Texas.
Producers on the hit CBS show “Dallas” once accused Christopher Atkins of stuffing his Speedo, but the soap star swears he never did.
Atkins — who portrayed swim coach Peter Richards on the Texas-based soap opera, which ran from 1978 to 1991 — exclusively revealed on the Page Six’s “Tell Me About It” series that he got a note from the network saying to “please stop stuffing my Speedo.”
“Hell no,” he exclaimed when we asked if he was in fact bulking up his bulge, adding that he took the comment in stride.
“That’s a very nice backhanded compliment I would think from the network,” the actor, 64, said, adding that he still wonders who gave that note.
“‘What do you think of that?’ ‘Oh, I think he’s pushing it a little bit.’ ‘Alright, we’ll give him a note,’” he said, playing out a fake conversation with show staffers.
Atkins became an overnight star when he made his film debut opposite Brooke Shields in 1980’s “The Blue Lagoon.”
The couple played two young children who are shipwrecked on a tropical isle, and once they hit puberty fall in love and have a child together. Shields turned 15 during filming, while Atkins was 18.
The film was controversial not only for its subject matter but also because Atkins briefly appeared naked in the film.
Atkins said appearing nude didn’t “freak” him out.
“We talked about it and what the director’s [Randall Kleiser] vision was and it had nothing to do with being gratuitous,” he explained. “As you know, back then in the ’80s, there was a lot of gratuitous [nudity] going on, especially with females … I said, ‘Well, let’s just go with it and see.’”
The movie also made Atkins a teen heartthrob, particularly for men.
“The Pirate Movie” star said he heard an interesting theory on why he appeals to men more than women, explaining that when “The Blue Lagoon” was released, “there was a big coming out for gay men” and his “full frontal nudity” was appealing for a lot of them.
“It just took off from there,” he said. “And so I was very flattered about that.”
Atkins even appeared nude in Playgirl in 1983.
“My theory was, you live once, there’s going to be a day where they’re going to pay me to keep my clothes on,” he said with a laugh about why he posed for the mag. “And I think I’m there by now! … It was pretty fun.”
These days, the divorced dad of two lives in Connecticut and is a doting grandfather to three grandsons.
“I want them to get to know their grandpa,” he shares, adding that he had just gotten back from seeing them.
“It was really exciting because I got to watch the soccer and I got to watch the rollerblade hockey and all of that,” he gushes.
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