Why Denise Richards Was 'So Embarrassed' Shooting Saved by the Bell Scene with Mario Lopez

The actress and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star made an appearance on the hit sitcom in 1991

Published on June 22, 2020 03:39 PM

Before she became a household name, Denise Richards landed a role on one of the biggest TV shows of the '90s: Saved by the Bell.

During an appearance on PeopleTV's Couch Surfing, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star recalled her scene from a 1991 episode of the beloved NBC sitcom, in which she played a girl who pretends to drown so she can get saved by heartthrob A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez).

Richards, who laughed as the clip played, admitted to host Lola Ogunnaike that shooting the scene was nerve-racking.

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"You know, it's very daunting when you go on a show with actors that have been working together for a long time and you only have a couple lines," she said. "It's my second acting job in my entire life, and I have to get into a bikini and go in the ocean and pretend like I'm drowning and have him carry me out in front of all those people. I was so embarrassed!"

"They say you should never work with children and animals — should we add waves to that list as well?" Ogunnaike quipped.

"You should add the ocean to that," Richards said. "Unless it's with Mario Lopez, of course."

Thirty years later, Richards, 49, is no stranger to the big or small screen. Her most recognized roles include Carmen Ibanez in the 1997 movie Starship Troopers, Kelly Van Ryan in the 1998 movie Wild Things and Bond girl Dr. Christmas Jones in the 1999 spy film The World Is Not Enough.

Last year, she joined the cast of CBS' long-running soap The Bold and the Beautiful as Shauna Fulton.

Lopez, meanwhile, will return to Saved by the Bell for the upcoming Peacock revival alongside costars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley.