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David Charvet is opening up about why he left Hollywood.
In a new interview with Fox News Digital, the 54-year-old actor discussed his experience on Fox’s hit series, “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” and why he stepped away from Hollywood in 2013.
“I left Hollywood because I wanted to be a good dad, and for me, today my children are my legacy,” he said. “It’s not the career you built or the money you have or all that. It’s really what you leave behind. And what I’m leaving one day behind is really my children. And if I did it right in that way, then I think I’ve successfully done my job as a man on this planet. So, for me, there’s no regrets.”
Having left Hollywood over a decade ago, Charvet expressed how “honored” he is “to be amongst all these people and just to be a part of it.”
Charvet quit acting in order to be a good father to his two kids, who he shares with his ex-wife, Brooke Burke. (Kim Raff/Getty Images for Operation Smile)
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The actor became famous playing lifeguard Matt Brody on “Baywatch,” saying no one told him that he “was going to be a ‘Baywatch’ guy forever,” but he doesn’t mind.
“That’s where I got my start. The show was incredible, it reached everywhere around the world,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of incredible opportunities from it. Incredible life lessons, incredible friendships and relationships, so for me I’m just grateful, you know, I’m super happy with whatever the outcome has been.”
WATCH: David Charvet admits he left Hollywood in order to be a good dad to his two kids
The original “Baywatch” helped launch not only Charvet’s career, but also put Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and many of its other stars on the map.
It was announced in September 2025 that a reboot of the series, starring a whole new batch of lifeguards was in the works. In addition to seasoned actors, including Stephen Amel and Shay Mitchell, the show is also a launching pad for acting newcomers, Brooks Nader, Livvy Dunne and Noah Beck.
Charvet starred as Matt Brody in “Baywatch.” (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“I got to say that what we created 25 years ago was very special. At the same time, there was only 14 channels at the time. So people got a chance to see that show more probably today than what people are going to see in the next season that’s about to come,” he said about the new series. “Our executive producers, which are, I believe, executive producers today, were real lifeguards, live the life as lifeguards, so there were real stories.”
WATCH: David Charvet calls the original ‘Baywatch’ ‘special’
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Charvet is excited to see what the new generation brings to the show, but admits, “getting people to really watch something today is more of a challenge,” and says the writers have to be “more creative” now than before, adding, “They got their work cut out for them.”
While he was considered a big star in his heyday, Charvet has “been out of the game” for over 20 years, and admits his “kids have never seen me on television or in movies or anything live.”
He explained to Fox News Digital that that was part of the reason he agreed to compete on the show, noting it “was really important for me to maybe show them that aspect of what I kind of gave up for them.” He shares two children with his ex-wife, Brook Burke; a daughter, Heaven and a son, Shaya.
Charvet agreed to be on the series, so his kids can have the chance to see him on television. (PETE DADDS / FOX. ©2026 FOX Media LLC.)
“And also the idea of pushing myself to the limit,” he said. “It’s not every day that you get thrown out of a helicopter, or you jump out of 25 stories and things like that, and then also the mind games. Do I really have what it takes? To take on what we took on was a real thing that I wanted to see if I could do. So for me, it was a huge challenge, an incredible opportunity, and hopefully my kids will be proud.”
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This season, 15 celebrities, led by Directing Staff (DS) Rudy Reyes, Billy Billingham, Jason “Foxy” Fox, and Jovon “Q” Quarles, an elite team of ex-special forces operatives were taken to Malaysia to compete on the show in the hostile jungle.
WATCH: David Charvet touched on the challenges he experienced while filming ‘Special Forces’
In addition to adapting to uncomfortable conditions and unpredictable terrain, they completed challenges including a search for an underground bunker, a supply load retrieval while suspended 300 feet above ground, chemical gassing, and so much more in order to learn the meaning of “no guts, no glory.”
As there are no elimination votes in the show, the only way to be kicked off is to fail a challenge, be asked to leave due to injury or choose to leave on your own accord.
This season, contestants were taken to the jungle in Malaysia. (PETE DADDS / FOX. ©2026 FOX Media LLC.)
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“I think that the mind is an incredible thing,” he said. “There was days where I didn’t think I was gonna be able to wake up the next morning and be able to walk or get out of the cot that was so-called a bed. Eat the food that we had or even go on the events that we have to do every day. I realize now that still today at age 54, if you put your mind to something, you can do anything.”
He added: “And that was a real message that I learned on this and that I was super proud of when I got home. I can now speak from experience and say to my kids and say to other people out there that if you really put your mind to anything, it can happen.”
The fifth season of “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” premieres Thursday, Sept. 24 on Fox and will stream the next day on Hulu.
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Charvet said the mental game was very challenging while on the show. (PETE DADDS / FOX. ©2026 FOX Media LLC.)
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