CNN
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Pamela Anderson says preparing for The Last Showgirl was a deeply personal experience.

Anderson appeared on Tuesday’s episode of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” alongside “Anora” actress Mikey Madison, where Anderson talked about stepping away from her “whole life” to take on her role in Gia Coppola directed drama.

“I was able to bring a lot of my personal experience, from my long life of dealing with beauty, glamor and aging and reconsidering life choices,” Anderson told Madison, speaking of the emotional preparation she did.

“I have to bring my whole life to this role,” she added.

In “The Last Showgirl,” Anderson plays Shelly, a Las Vegas showgirl whose show ends abruptly after 30 years, forcing her to confront and plan for her future head on. Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd round out the cast.

In the Variety interview, Anderson further discussed her two sons, Brandon and Dylan Lee, whom she shares with her ex, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. She said that while working on the film, she looked back on her life and came to some realizations about her children’s experiences seeing their mother “kind of sexualized.”

“A lot of the things I went through, I didn’t realize my kids were going through at the same time,” she said. She added that she and her children, now adults in their 20s, “talk about it a lot and (I) kind of ask for forgiveness… But we’re such a team now.”

Anderson received her first Golden Globe nomination for her role in “Last Showgirl.”

On Tuesday’s episode, the “Baywatch” star said she’s really trying to live in the moment and enjoy this time in her life, even though the role has encouraged some introspection.

“I am not ashamed of my life. I’m not ashamed of the decisions I’ve made, even though in hindsight I might have done things differently. But it takes life experience to know that you would have done it differently,” Anderson said.

She continued: “I feel like I now have the freedom to focus on things instead of worrying about a relationship or my family. My children are grown up. I am free. Now I can play again.”