Chaos of Captivity

The 1980 cult classic Blue Lagoon certainly did not lack for nudity, and co-stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins have reunited more than 40 years after the film’s debut to share stories about their awkward time filming the controversial novel adaptation.

In Blue Lagoon, the story of two cousins who were left on a tropical island paradise as children as they grew into adults and eventually fell in love is narrated. Shields, who was only 14 when the movie was made, said in the most recent episode of her Now What? podcast, “Never again will a movie be made like that. It wouldn’t be allowed.”

“Animals were hurt in the movie. We were spearing fish and all kinds of crazy things. Children are naked running down a beach,” recalls Atkins, who was 18 at the time. “I was chafed up to no end.”

 “There were scenes where I was butt naked with you, if you remember, sliding down that slide and things like that. And that was a little awkward, but it was funny for me because I would just do it,” he continued.

Shields recalled her hair being taped down to her body to cover her breasts. She quipped, “I do not know what I was trying to cover. Remember the bumpy pads? They would stick these little flesh-colored things to my nipple because the nipple is where they drew the line, evidently, with this movie.”

Shields said that, in addition to the many naked scenes, everyone wanted the co-stars to date off-screen. She claimed she had never “really kissed anybody by that age.”

She revealed, “What I remember, too, is that they wanted us so desperately to fall in love with each other. It also struck me because I remember thinking, ‘Hey, let us just get to know each other first rather than trying to make us fall in love with each other and force the situation.’ And I did not react well to being forced into feeling anything. I wanted to be left a little bit to my own.”

Atkins, who emphasized that he was 18 at the time and Shields was only 14, had nothing but praise for his former co-star, even though the two never actually dated in real life.

He recalled, “The chemistry between us was just amazing. There were a lot of great, great moments that went on there. I think a lot of that innocence that came off in the film made it work even more.”