Brenda Song knew she wanted to be part of the movie The last showgirl as soon as she heard Pamela Anderson was the star.
“I thought, ‘A showgirl movie with Pamela Anderson! Yes!’” she told Yahoo Entertainment. “Who doesn’t want to be a showgirl?”
The film follows a performer, played by Anderson, as she ponders her future after finding out that the show she is part of is ending after 30 years. Her friends and colleagues in Las Vegas, who range in age from teens to their 50s, are struggling to figure out how to move forward from a career that many of them have pursued since childhood.
Trusted news and daily treats, straight to your inbox
See for yourself: The Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
Song, a former Disney Channel child star, said she then fell in love with the “clear and strong” vision director Gia Coppola had for the film and how the script follows four women at a crossroads in their lives.
“It resonated with me as a new mother at a crossroads in my career,” she said. “I was desperate to be part of this film. I thought, ‘I’ll put up the lights! I’ll be your [production assistant]! I will do anything! ”
Brenda Song in The last showgirl. (Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection)
At one point in the film, Song’s character talks about how difficult it is to book a gig as a dancer when she no longer looks like a teenager. Song said that as an actor, she “always questions” what society says about women as they get older.
“I love that we combat that in the film,” she said. “Pamela, Jamie [Lee Curtis] and Gia – all these women are so unapologetically themselves. I felt like I could take on the world after making this film because I was surrounded by these incredible women who were so strong, so powerful, so talented.
The song was particularly inspired by Anderson’s presence on set, which kept the atmosphere high and the performances authentic.
“I always say, ‘I just need to get it out there,’” she joked. “That’s why I’m so happy when I see her get her flowers for being so unashamedly Pam.”
When they weren’t dressed as showgirls, Song said the cast wore “literally no makeup.”
“That was the first time I ever did that. Even as a child they always put powder on me. It’s all because of Pam,” she said. “This project helped me push back and say, ‘Who cares? I am me! I’m 36 and beautiful!’”
Kiernan Shipka and Pamela Anderson enter The last showgirl. (Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection)
Kiernan Shipka, also a former child star, told Yahoo Entertainment that she was moved by the “collective energy” on set, which made it feel like “everyone here wants to be 100%.”
Shipka’s character in the film is only 19 when the show ends. She left her family and school behind to take up dancing, and yet she struggled to find a new gig, leaving her in the same place as her older colleagues.
“There’s something very frightening about that [age] and not knowing what is going on, but there is also something very poignant going on [Anderson’s character] looking back and knowing things could have been different,” she said. “Both are valid and painful experiences, and both affect me in different ways because I’m always someone who… looks back on life and picks apart what I did or what I wish I enjoyed more.”
While the film may focus on the pain of outgrowing something you love, Shipka found a “supportive, beautiful environment” with the cast.
“It wasn’t about age – it was about women coming together to strengthen each other,” she said.
The last showgirl is in theaters now.
