---
name: "Christopher Atkins"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/christopher-atkins"
fi1m_id: "christopher-atkins"
imdb_id: "nm0000803"
tmdb_id: 42740
wikidata_id: "Q532098"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "21 February 1961"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-10-04T16:43:25.971828+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Christopher Atkins

## Identity

Christopher Atkins

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/christopher-atkins
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** christopher-atkins
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000803
- **TMDB ID:** 42740
- **Wikidata ID:** Q532098
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Atkins, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q532098, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000803/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/42740

Actor. Born 21 February 1961 in Rye, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 21 February 1961, Rye, New York, USA
- **Also known as:** คริสโตเฟอร์ แอตกิ้นส์
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Atkins, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q532098, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000803/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/42740

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Blue Lagoon*](https://film.one/film/the-blue-lagoon.md) (46)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Christopher Atkins

> Christopher Atkins arrived on screen with no training, a lifeguard's shoulders and a grin, and *The Blue Lagoon* asked for nothing else. Four decades on, the industry has largely kept asking for the same thing, and he has largely kept supplying it.

Watch Richard in *The Blue Lagoon* (1980) when he is in the water. Atkins swims like somebody who has done it all his life, which he had, as a sailing instructor and lifeguard before anyone put him in front of a camera. He dives, surfaces, hauls himself onto the rocks, and for those stretches the film has an actor. Then he has to speak, and what he has is a grin. The script gives the two castaways questions about their own bodies, and Atkins answers each one with the same open, pleased face, as if waiting for somebody to tell him what the line was for.

He was a model with no acting experience when Randal Kleiser cast him, after testing thousands of others, and the film made him famous at once. Columbia signed him for four pictures. What followed was *The Pirate Movie* (1982), a musical comedy out of Gilbert and Sullivan, *A Night in Heaven* (1983), and a run as Sue Ellen's young lover on *Dallas* (1983–84). The pattern was set early: athletic young men in romantic or adventure settings, frequently without a shirt. From the mid-1980s the work moved to television films, low-budget features and direct-to-video, where it has mostly stayed, more than a hundred credits across four decades, with a reunion with Brooke Shields on *Suddenly Susan* (1999), a part for Kleiser again in *It's My Party* (1996), and a cameo in the 2012 *Blue Lagoon* remake.

The fair thing to say is that Kleiser did not help him. *The Blue Lagoon* trusts Néstor Almendros's lagoon to do the acting, and the camera never asks more of the boy than it asks of the water. Atkins is not bad in it. He is unguided, and the television films and direct-to-video features that followed are not where actors go to be guided. We admit that half an hour in we had stopped watching him and started watching the sea, and felt a little mean about it, because he is so plainly doing his best with so little. Shields at least has a face the camera will wait for. Atkins has a body it photographs and then moves past.

He knows all this. He has said he would rather be seen as a comedian, or in some other kind of part, and that the typecasting frustrates him a little, without any sourness about how the career went. More recently he has put it another way: "I've done everything in this business except make my own film. That's the last box I now want to check off." We would watch it, out of curiosity if nothing else. It would be the first time the man with the grin got to decide what the shot was for.

## Biography

Christopher Atkins (born Christopher Atkins Bomann) is an American actor and businessman. Born on 21 February 1961 in Rye, New York, he had no prior acting experience when cast as Richard in the 1980 film *The Blue Lagoon*, opposite Brooke Shields. A former sailing instructor and model, he was selected from thousands of auditionees for the role.

Atkins received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year – Actor for his debut. He later appeared in *The Pirate Movie* (1982) and as Peter Richards in the television series *Dallas* (1983–1984). His other credits include *A Night in Heaven* (1983), *Shakma* (1990) and *Blue Lagoon: The Awakening* (2012).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Blue Lagoon* (1980), Fi1m 46, as Richard — [page](https://film.one/film/the-blue-lagoon.md)

## Complete filmography (71)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas* (2023), as Pete
- *Attraction to Paris* (2021), as Edward
- *Lake of Fire* (2020), as Henry Wayne
- *One Remains* (2019), as Samuel Mahoney
- *The City of Gold* (2018), as Richard Davenport
- *Gathering of Heroes: Legend of the Seven Swords* (2018), as Garrik Grayraven
- *The Sparrows Nesting* (2016), as Mike Sparrow
- *Kids vs Monsters* (2015), as Charles
- *A Horse for Summer* (2015), as Pastor Bob
- *Guardian Angel* (2014), as John Robertson
- *Waiting in the Wings: The Musical* (2014), as Priest
- *Amy* (2013), as Chris
- *Crazy Kind of Love* (2013), as Mr. Jeffries
- *Blue Lagoon: The Awakening* (2012), as Mr. Christiansen
- *Assassins' Code* (2011), as Daniel Dodd
- *Harley's Hill* (2011), as Mr. Miller
- *Sedona* (2011), as Pierce
- *Stained Glass Windows* (2010), as Detective Marshall
- *Forget Me Not* (2009), as Mr. Channing
- *100 Million BC* (2008), as Erik Reno
- *Spiritual Warriors* (2008), as King of Sparta
- *Railroad to Hell: A Chinaman's Chance* (2008), as Jacob
- *Love Don't Come Easy* (2008), as Clay Parker
- *Payback* (2007), as Sean Walker
- *Caved In: Prehistoric Terror* (2006), as John Palmer
- *The Librarians* (2004), as Ringo
- *Quigley* (2003), as Woodward Channing
- *The Little Unicorn* (2002), as PC Sid Edwards
- *Pets* (2002), Producer, Writer
- *13th Child* (2002), as Ron
- *The Stoneman* (2002), as Kip Hollings
- *Under the Gun* (2002), as Bill
- *Tequila Express* (2002), as David Manning
- *Title to Murder* (2001), as Paul Shaughnessy
- *Civility* (2000), as Alfred Russo
- *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000), series, as Jimmy Turelli
- *Stageghost* (2000), as Matthew Bronson
- *Lima: Breaking the Silence* (1999), as Jeff
- *Mutual Needs* (1999), as Andrew
- *The Fairy King* (1998), Writer, Co-Producer
- *Suddenly Susan* (1996), series, as Tony
- *Angel Flight Down* (1996), as Jack Bahr
- *It's My Party* (1996), as Jack Allen
- *Dead Man's Island* (1996), as Roger Prescott
- *Project Shadowchaser III* (1995), as Snake
- *Smoke N Lightnin* (1995), as Lightnin
- *Guns of Honor* (1994), as Dusty Fog
- *Signal One* (1994), as Martin Bullet
- *Trigger Fast* (1994), as Dusty Fog
- *Bandit: Bandit Goes Country* (1994), as Johnny Bruce
- *Die Watching* (1993), as Michael Terrence
- *Dracula Rising* (1993), as Vlad
- *Red Shoe Diaries* (1992), series, Actor
- *Wet and Wild Summer* (1992), as Bobby McCain
- *Detective Extralarge* (1991), series, as Blake
- *King's Ransom* (1991), as Spence
- *Shakma* (1990), as Sam
- *Fatal Charm* (1990), as Adam Brenner
- *Listen to Me* (1989), as Bruce Arlington
- *Mortuary Academy* (1988), as Max Grimm
- *Night Rose: Akhbar's Daughter* (1987), as Bitterman
- *Birds of Prey* (1987), as Peter
- *Secret Weapons* (1985), as Allen Collier
- *A Night in Heaven* (1983), as Rick
- *Hotel* (1982), series, as Jason Fielding
- *The Pirate Movie* (1982), as Frederic / Fencing Instructor
- *Child Bride of Short Creek* (1981), as Isaac King
- *The Blue Lagoon* (1980), as Richard — Fi1m 46, [page](https://film.one/film/the-blue-lagoon.md)
- *Dallas* (1978), series, as Peter Richards, Peter Richards (credit only)
- *Feathering the Wind*, Writer
- *Payback II*, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Christopher Atkins](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-a85261e626d4.jpg) Christopher Atkins — Toglenn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Christopher_Atkins_2009.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Acteur Chris Atkins zittend op een bank tijdens een interview (1981)](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-b4efacd89487.jpg) Acteur Chris Atkins zittend op een bank tijdens een interview (1981) — Hans van Dijk for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Chris_Atkins_1981.jpg/1280px-Chris_Atkins_1981.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteur Chris Atkins zittend op een bank tijdens een interview Datum :  (1981)](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-d43d12c2aec5.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Acteur Chris Atkins zittend op een bank tijdens een interview Datum :  (1981) — Hans van Dijk for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Acteur_Chris_Atkins_zittend_op_een_bank_tijdens_een_interview%2C_Bestanddeelnr_931-2806.jpg/1280px-Acteur_Chris_Atkins_zittend_op_een_bank_tijdens_een_interview%2C_Bestanddeelnr_931-2806.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Christopher Atkins at a fundraiser for Drop in the Bucket.](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-77446497a969.jpg) Christopher Atkins at a fundraiser for Drop in the Bucket. — Angela George at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sharongraphics/, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/ChristopherAtkinsOct08.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Christopher Atkins](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-841e5a19a543.jpg) Christopher Atkins — Image via TMDB
- ![Christopher Atkins](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-9139153d4b6b.jpg) Christopher Atkins — Image via TMDB
- ![Christopher Atkins](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-967dfec15891.jpg) Christopher Atkins — Image via TMDB
- ![Christopher Atkins](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-892fd91ae0ee.jpg) Christopher Atkins — Image via TMDB
- ![Christopher Atkins](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-d2838406a127.jpg) Christopher Atkins — Image via TMDB
- ![Christopher Atkins](https://film.one/media/person/5539376/gallery-79c4a31d4012.jpg) Christopher Atkins — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won, 1 nominated

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award 1990: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award (won), for *Listen to Me*
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor (won), for *A Night in Heaven*
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor 1983: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor (nominated), for *The Pirate Movie*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/christopher-atkins