Matthew Felker is behind the camera for his latest project, but it wasn't long ago that he was starring on the screen.
The 44-year-old director and executive producer of the new docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun — premiering Aug. 28 on Hulu — recently reminisced with PEOPLE on 20 years ago, when he was a newly minted model and actor starring in Britney Spears's "Toxic" music video.
"It's actually kind of one of the reasons I could identify with the actors," Felker told PEOPLE about how his experience in the music video helped him relate to the actors in After Baywatch. "Granted, I wasn't on the biggest TV show in the world, but it was sort of a moment in pop culture, that video, and it's your 15 minutes of fame type thing."
Matthew Felker and Britney Spears in the 'Toxic' music video.Britney Spears/YouTube
Felker, who has a steamy makeout with Spears in the memorable 2024 music video, embraces how he made his name in the entertainment industry.
"A lot of people fight the things they kind of become famous for," the director shared. "There are a lot of actors with [Baywatch] that pull away from it because they don't want to be known for it. The Britney Spears thing is flattering. If someone remembers it or knows it or it's great."
Like may of those on the original Baywatch — including Pamela Anderson and Jason Mamoa — Felker came to Hollywood after being discovered, as a model with a dream.
"I just moved to California. I just got off the boat from Wisconsin and showed up on Universal to do that," the model-turned-director recalled of making the music video. "So yeah, to be from the Midwest and have no family ties in the media, just kind of came out here with a dream and showed up on that set. She still was the biggest pop star in the world at the time. So it was very surreal."
While Felker has other initiatives to focus on, he said that every now and again he is reminded of his time as a 20-something making out with one Britney Spears.
"I mean, it'll be on social media or someone who went to high school [with me], they'll send it or they'll send [the] Making the Video from MTV," he said.
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Giving a voice to the stars of Baywatch in his new docuseries, Felker said that it is important to show that "life happens" to everyone, regardless of how hard you might try to control it.
"Just because you're a beautiful person doesn't mean that life can't happen, too," the executive producer and director said. "Life happens to a lot of these people, and we see that."
After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun premieres Wednesday, Aug. 28, on Hulu.
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