David Hasselhoff's most iconic TV roles ranked
He holds the record for being the most watched man on television of all time and needs to only be introduced by half of his surname. There is no doubt David Hasselhoff is iconic.
But before The Hoff became a pop culture legend, he was a little-known actor who got his breakout role on a soap. Leading man roles soon followed and not only beamed his face into our living rooms, but his characters into our hearts.
These are Hasselhoff's most memorable roles, ranked in order of iconic-ness:
3. Snapper Foster, The Young and the Restless
Snapper was a member of one of Y&R's two original families and originally played by William Gray Espy. After two years, Hasselhoff was cast in Espy's place as the oldest Foster son.
Hasselhoff played Snapper from 1975 to 1982 and left the show to star in Knight Rider. He returned to the soap in 2003 and 2010 to play the doctor in storylines revolving around sister Jill's biological family.
Snapper was a doctor who had a memorable love triangle with Chris and Sally. While he was in love with Chris, she struggled to have sex with him because of trauma from a rape. Though Snapper respected this, he took Sally as a lover.
Sally gave birth to Snapper's son Chuckie but when Chris discovered the baby's parentage she had a miscarriage. Chris and Snapper eventually had a daughter named Jennifer and left town.
2. Michael Knight, Knight Rider
From soap star to crime fighting hero, Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight in Knight Rider from 1982 to 1986 as well as subsequent TV movies.
Michael Arthur Long was a detective injured in the line of duty when Wilton Knight recruited him for his public justice organisation. Michael was given a new face and a new identity, as well as a high-tech car named KITT to help him fight crime.
RELATED: 12 things you need to know about the iconic show Knight Rider
Hasselhoff didn't just play Michael, he also played Wilton Knight's villainous son Garthe. However this role didn't last long as Hasselhoff found playing both roles on the show too demanding.
Michael was known as a ladies' man, and was revealed to have a son named after him in the 2008 TV reboot. He meets his estranged son Mike at the funeral of his Mike's mother. Mike eventually takes the Knight name to follow in Michael's footsteps.
3. Mitch Buchannon, Baywatch
No TV lifeguard ever took their job as seriously as Mitch took his. A passionate defender of swimmers against the waves, Mitch often ended up saving people who doubted the importance of his job.
While his professional life thrived, the same couldn't be said for his personal life. Mitch was a single dad to son Hobie after his marriage to Gayle ended. He had many relationships and dates over the course of the series, including a memorable romance with fellow lifeguard Stephanie, but struggled to find The One.
Mitch's biggest challenge came when he was paralysed after he was slammed into rocks by a wave. This was a tragedy for Mitch, whose career as a lifeguard would've been over. Miraculously, Mitch regained some movement in his legs at the very moment a young boy needed rescuing.
He wasn't just a lifeguard though, Mitch was also a detective and started a private detective agency, which featured in the spin-off series Baywatch Nights.
Later Mitch decided to move to Hawaii and train a team of elite lifeguards from around the world. However, Mitch was caught in an explosion underwater while on the pursuit of eco-terrorists.
Though Mitch was presumed dead, he showed up alive in the TV movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.
Hasselhoff reprised the role in the 2017 movie Baywatch starring Dwayne Johnson.
Stream episodes of Knight Rider and Baywatch on 9Now.