The actor, who was a sex symbol in the '80s, recalled playing the love interest of Brooke Shields and Linda Gray. Atkins now wants to work behind-the-scenes as a filmmaker.

Christopher Atkins claims his drinking cost him the lead role in "Footloose," which ultimately went to Kevin Bacon.

The "Blue Lagoon" actor looked back at his career during a recent appearance at Fanboy Expo Knoxville in Tennessee, which celebrates pop culture and nostalgia, People magazine reported.

According to the outlet, the 65-year-old actor said filmmakers behind the 1984 classic wanted to meet with him before making their final casting decision, but he wasn't able to pull it off.

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Christopher Atkins (left), who starred opposite Brooke Shields (center) in 1980's "The Blue Lagoon," recently told a panel at the Fanboy Expo Knoxville that he lost the lead role in 1984's "Footloose" to Kevin Bacon (right) because his drinking cost him an important meeting with the filmmakers. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images; CBS via Getty Images)

"I was a mess back then," he told the panel, as quoted by People. "I was partying it up way too much, and they called me in."

"I said ... 'I can't go in right now. I've been drinking and carrying on,'" Atkins recalled. "And they said, 'No, they need to see you.' And I went in, and I just blew that audition ... I mean, it wasn't even an audition — I had the part, but I was so messed up that they said, 'Yeah, we're going to have to pass on this guy.'"

Atkins was offered the role of Ren in "Footloose," after making his on-screen debut alongside Brooke Shields in "The Blue Lagoon." (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)

"And I'm almost 40 years sober, so there you go," Atkins added.

WATCH: CHRISTOPHER ATKINS LOOKS BACK AT ‘THE BLUE LAGOON’ AND ‘DALLAS’

The actor also reflected on his breakout role in "The Blue Lagoon" during the discussion. The former teen heartthrob was just 18 when he was cast in the 1980 movie opposite Brooke Shields.

"I'd never done anything before," Atkins explained. "Never wanted to be an actor — I only wanted to play baseball. That was my dream."

Kevin Bacon as Ren appears in a scene from the movie "Footloose." (CBS/Getty Images)

"I didn't know what a camera looked like. I had no idea what a mark was, and I knew nothing. And I had to jump on an airplane and fly all the way to Fiji," he said.

Actor Christopher Atkins attends CollectorFest New Jersey 2020 at Wayne P.A.L. in Wayne, N.J., on Oct. 18, 2020. (Bobby Bank/Getty Images)

"I ended up modeling for [the] Ford Modeling Agency in New York City and auditioned for 'The Blue Lagoon'... And I kept getting called back and called back and called back. And then [after] a couple of months, I didn't hear from them... And then all of a sudden, I got another callback."

The "Dallas" alum said his "whole life changed" after the movie's release.

Christopher Atkins went on to star in "Dallas" opposite Linda Gray. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

"We were young, and so you're constantly getting this notoriety," Atkins explained. "And the magazines need you to sell their magazines, and you're hot at that time. And so it does get overwhelming... There are times when you're doing interviews, and you have a line of people, and you have to say the same thing to each person because they have the same question."

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Brooke Shields and "Blue Lagoon" co-star Christopher Atkins circa 1980 in New York City. (Sonia Moskowitz/IMAGES/Getty Images)

"But it changes your life, because all of a sudden you’re nothing and then you’re on every single grocery store magazine."

Back in 2025, Atkins told Fox News Digital he "didn't know that much" about Shields, then 14, before she joined him on the set of "The Blue Lagoon."

Despite the controversy, "The Blue Lagoon" became a major box office success and made Christopher Atkins an overnight star. (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)

"I lived on [a] boat off the island [where we were filming]... she hadn't come yet," he said at the time. "She had another week or so before she was going to get here. The director had put her picture up over my bed so that I could start falling in love with her before the movie started. That was my introduction to Brooke Shields."

Actors Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields in the 1980 movie, "The Blue Lagoon," directed by Randal Kleiser. (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)

The movie was controversial for depicting the two young characters in a sexual relationship. Shields and the movie's crew have long maintained that she used body doubles for nude scenes and that her hair was glued to her body to avoid exposing her chest, People magazine reported.

"The crew was all Australian," Atkins said. "Back in the day, all the Australian beaches... were topless. It was very natural and freeing for the Australians... And being on a deserted island, there were no tourists, nothing. It was just us on this island... [And] these two kids, in a natural [and deserted] environment, they wouldn't wear clothes. It wouldn't be something that was in the forefront of their minds, that they needed to cover up."

Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields attend an event celebrating their movie at the Cinerama Dome theater in Hollywood on June 19, 1980. (Robert Ware/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)

"As time went on, it just became more and more natural not to have clothes on," Atkins said. "The crew made it very, very easy. Randall [Kleiser], the director, made it very, very easy about it. [The scenes] were absolutely important for the film, but it wasn't grandiose. It wasn't something that was there for the exhibition of the film. He really wanted this to be as natural and as real as possible. I understood that and got that."

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"The Blue Lagoon" sparked controversy for its depiction of teenage sexuality and nudity, despite the filmmakers' use of body doubles and other techniques for certain scenes. (Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)

"By the time I was done leaving that island four and a half months later, it [was] really hard for me to keep my clothes on at a beach," he joked.

People magazine noted that critics largely panned the movie. However, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The outlet reported that the movie grossed more than $58 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 1980.

Christopher Atkins recently told a panel at the Fanboy Expo Knoxville that he's nearly 40 years sober. (Sonia Moskowitz/Images/Getty Images)

Looking back at his Hollywood career, Atkins said he has no regrets.

Christopher Atkins attends a private screening of the Oculus Virtual Reality short film "Defrost" on Aug. 17, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Paul Redmond/Getty Images)

"I got to a point in my life where I married young," he said. "I wanted to be a dad more than chase the business... When I was 16, I used to teach sailing in Rye, New York, to little kids. From that measly paycheck that I was getting, I used to put a dollar away for someday when I had kids. That's how badly I wanted kids. When I had my two kids, I just did whatever came my way to put food on the table for them and keep working."

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In this undated photo, Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins attend a celebrity Halloween event at the home of Susie Field for the children of Los Angeles Children's Hospital in Beverly Hills. (SGranitz/WireImage)

"I've been blessed," he said. "I've done more than 100 movies and television shows at this point. Now my kids have their kids, and that's pretty remarkable... I've done everything in this business except make my own film. That's the last box I now want to check off... That's what I'm chasing right now, putting some really good projects together... So there are no regrets."

Stephanie Nolasco is an Entertainment Reporter for Fox News Digital.

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