THE 'BAD' BOY OF 'BAYWATCH'

He graduated from Bates College with a degree in poli sci.... He worked on Capitol Hill researching environmental issues.... He's playing a reckless hunk caught in the lies-seduction-betrayal-death scenario in the ABC movie Bad to the Bone (Oct. 19, 9-11 p.m.).... You probably know him as the 29-year-old studly sensation of Baywatch. But there's a lot more you probably don't know about David Chokachi.

EW: How many David Hasselhoff albums do you own?

DAVID CHOKACHI: Only one, which he gave [each cast member] as a gift. Actually, I don't mind his music -- it's kinda hip. We had a party, and he sang a bunch of songs. He didn't throw any big kicks, but he was a true showman, cracking jokes with the audience. I'd see him in concert.

EW: Your college thesis was titled The Politics of Deforestation in Latin America. Do you ever think of that while you're shaving your body hair for Baywatch?

DC: It's environmentally sound because you use less soap. But it does itch when it grows out. Yasmine [Bleeth] came into the trailer when I was being shaved and said, ''In all my years in this business, I've never seen an actor getting his armpit shaved by the makeup lady.''

EW: If you have a bad reputation, what is it for?

DC: Pranks. You name it and I'm doing it -- putting Gena [Lee Nolin]'s underwear on my head and running around. Last year, I found this huge dead rat on the beach -- it was 18 inches long. So I stuffed it in Yasmine's bathing suit. She was really p -- -ed because the thing just stunk. So she went on Oprah and said how bad the ''shrinkage'' is for the Baywatch men when they jump in the water -- particularly David Chokachi.

EW: Tell us your deepest, darkest, most embarrassing secret.

DC: I bawled when Old Yeller got shot. Oh, man, the way they just set you up with that movie -- it's bru-tal! I love animals -- more than most humans. Did you ever read Where the Red Fern Grows? It's a great book about these two dogs who hunt raccoons. When one of them gets killed, I was like, waaahhhhh [mock-sobs profusely]. It was the saddest thing.

EW: What's the cheesiest pickup line you've heard at the beach?

DC: ''Didn't I rescue you once?''

EW: Who tried to pull that on you?

DC: No, that's the one I use.