'The Last Showgirl' star Pamela Anderson says being 'underestimated' her entire career has had it advantages

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For most of her career, Pamela Anderson has been confined to the label of "sex symbol." 

Gracing many covers of Playboy magazine and making red swimsuits iconic, thanks to her role in television's "Baywatch," the 57-year-old actress says she has been "underestimated" by Hollywood but that she has been part of the problem, as well.

"I underestimated myself, too," she said during Variety's Studio, while appearing at the Toronto Film Festival this weekend to promote her upcoming film, "The Last Showgirl." 

"I think that you got to believe in yourself for others to believe in you," she added.

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Pamela Anderson admits that she "underestimated" herself ahead of the release of her movie "The Last Showgirl." (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb)

Anderson's real life parallels her character in the movie; a Las Vegas dancer getting pushed out of the industry due to her age. Anderson says securing this large of a role this late in her career "came at the right time." Last year, Anderson released her impactful documentary, "Pamela, A Love Story," which delved into her personal life behind the camera, and showed a different side to the bombshell.

"Everything just came at the right time. The stars have really aligned. This feels like such a dream experience. And I watched the movie, I felt like it was a dream. Doing the movie, it felt like a dream. And now, it just also feels very surreal, like I’m going to wake up and this isn’t really happening, and then I’ll be really pissed," she joked.

Pamela Anderson feels "blessed" to star in the upcoming film, "The Last Showgirl." (Tracey Biel/Variety via Getty Images)

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"I feel so blessed and fortunate that I get this opportunity and chance to kind of have this life that I’ve thought I could have a long time ago, and just you know, things get interrupted, life interrupted."

"Having nothing to live up to is kind of a good position to be in," she joked earlier. "You can surprise everybody. Even with a full sentence, you're a genius! . . . But no, it's timing. I just think timing and having the capacity to focus."

Actors Pamela Anderson, Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song accompany director Gia Coppola and writer Kate Gersten at the Variety TIFF Studio. (Michelle Quance/Variety via Getty Images)

Gia Coppola, the director of the film, was asked why she believes Anderson has been passed over despite her longevity in the industry.

"I feel like being a beautiful woman, you get typecasted in a way. And I'm so drawn to actors, in general, that I feel like they have to express so much more and have so much more to themselves, but then get pigeonholed into this typecast," she explained. "I like working with actors that really want that chance, because it becomes such a fulfilling collaboration."

"Having nothing to live up to is kind of a good position to be in. . . . You can surprise everybody. Even with a full sentence, you're a genius!"

— Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson is best known for her role as Casey Jean Parker in "Baywatch." (Getty Images)

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Coppola also spoke about how she nabbed the actress for her flick.

"I kind of came across a picture of her. I guess you were promoting your documentary, and there was this sort of gut feeling of, ‘Well, what about her?’" Coppola said. "But I didn’t know too much about you at that time. And then my other cousin, Matt Shire, was like, ‘I know who your Shelly is. It’s Pamela. Watch her documentary.' And I did, and I was like, ‘You’re absolutely right. Like no one else can be her. I have to go find her.’"

Pamela Anderson's son, Brandon Thomas Lee, ultimately got the script to his mother. (Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)

Asking for permission from Anderson to tell the rest of the story, Coppola explained that she initially had a hurdle to overcome.

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"I submitted the script to her old agent, and it got turned down within an hour, and then, I was able to find a way through Brandon [Lee], your son, to get her the script," Coppola added. 

Anderson has since signed with a new agency.

"No one else could have played this role but Pamela," Coppolla added.