Christopher Atkins

Christopher Atkins (born February 21, 1961) is an American actor, who became famous in his debut role with co-star Brooke Shields in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon.

Atkins was born as Christopher Atkins Bomann on February 21, 1961, in Rye, New York, to German Americans Donald Bomann and Bitsy Nebauer. His father is a real estate agency owner and business executive, and his mother is a science teacher.

Atkins was an aspiring baseball player; when his baseball aspirations were derailed by knee problems, he started a modeling career. In high school, he was a lifeguard and sailing instructor.

When he began acting, Atkins dropped the last name Bomann and used his middle name, Atkins, as his last name.

Atkins had no previous interest or experience in acting, but a friend persuaded him to audition for The Blue Lagoon. Atkins won the role over 4,000 other actors. The film's director, Randal Kleiser, stated that Atkins was a sailing instructor with no acting experience when he was cast in the film. In the film, he and co-star Brooke Shields played two teenaged cousins living alone together in a tropical paradise after being marooned there as children. Released in 1980, the film grossed over $58 million with a production cost of $4.5 million but received a negative critical response. Atkins appeared nude (including frontal nudity) in the film, and spent much of the film wearing a loincloth.

The following year, in 1981, he lent his voice to "Prince Siegfried" character in Japanese animator Kimio Yabuki's animation Swan Lake.

After appearing in the TV movie Child Bride of Short Creek (1981), Atkins went on to star with Kristy McNichol in The Pirate Movie (1982), an update of Arthur Sullivan and William Schwenck Gilbert's operetta The Pirates of Penzance. From that movie, he sang "How Can I Live Without Her", which peaked at #71 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1982.

In A Night in Heaven (1983), co-starring with Lesley Ann Warren, Atkins played "Rick Monroe," an outspoken and overconfident student working his way through college as an exotic dancer. For his performance in the film, he won the 1983 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor. 

For one season (1983–1984), Atkins had a recurring role as camp counselor "Peter Richards" on Dallas, in which his character has an affair with Sue Ellen Ewing (played by Linda Gray).

In 1987, he was seen as Peter in René Cardona Jr.'s Mexican horror/thriller Beaks: The Movie, alongside Michelle Johnson.

In the 1990s and 2000s, he appeared in the movies Fatal Charms (1990), Wet and Wild Summer! (1992), Trigger Fast (1994) Project Shadowchaser III (1995) and Angel Flight Dawn (1996). Other notable projects included True Legends of the West(2001), The Employee of the Month, Tequila Express (2002), 13th Child (2002), Quigley (2003), Caved In (2006), and Spiritual Warriors (2007). He also appeared in a Michael Schroeder's comedy titled Mortuary Academy (1988).

In 1999, he reunited with Brooke Shields on her television series Suddenly Susanas a fellow journalist who is uninterested in her.

In 2007, Atkins starred in 100 Million BC, a direct-to-DVD, sci-fi movie. In 2009, he appeared on VH1's Confessions of a Teen Idol, a reality show featuring former teen idols.

In 2016, he had a recurring role of "Neil" in the TV series The Eleventh. Most recently, in August 2019, Atkins was seen as "Samuel Mahoney" in Josh Hodgins' horror film One Remains, starring Vanessa Leigh and Ryan O'Quinn.

He has finished filming for Raj Thiruselvan's drama Lake of Fire (to be released in 2020) and Jesús del Cerro's thriller Attraction to Paris (to be released in 2021). In addition, he is currently filming for a Dutch film Out for Vengeance, in which he will be seen as "Detective John Grant" alongside Michel Qissi, Silvio Simac, and Costas Mandylor.

Other work

In 1982, Atkins also posed nude for Playgirl magazine. He has been on the cover of many teen magazines, and he has appeared in several television commercials representing Coke and Adidas.

• Atkins was nominated for a Golden Globe Awards for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male for The Blue Lagoon as well as Best Young Actor for the Young Artist Awards.
• He has been twice nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor, winning in 1983 for his performance in A Night in Heaven.
• Atkins was ranked no. 76 on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Teen Stars."

Atkins was married to Australian actress Lynne Barron Weber from 25 May 1985 until the divorce in 2007. They had two children: son Grant Bomann (born 10 December 1985) and daughter Brittney Bomann (born 1 May 1987). Brittney is also an actress and appeared in Mikael Salomon's Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012).

In a 2009 interview, Atkins acknowledged his past struggle with alcoholism and stated that he had been sober for 22 years.

He and Brooke Shields, his first co-star, continue to remain good friends.

Atkins also owns an outdoor sports company, Rocky River Outdoor Products, and has patented a fishing lure.

Film and Television