Knight Rider (1982) Cast: Then and Now [41 Years After] 2023 by HollywoodNuts
Glen A. Larson is the creator and producer of the American action/crime drama television series Knight Rider. NBC initially aired the series from September 26, 1982, until April 4, 1986. The show’s lead character, Michael Knight, played by David Hasselhoff, is a sleek and contemporary crime fighter who is helped by KITT, a cutting-edge, artificially intelligent, self-aware, and highly indestructible automobile. Before moving to 20th Century Fox Television, Larson created this series for Universal Television.
The original series’ Michael Knight, a crime-fighting hero, was portrayed by David Hasselhoff. Michael Long, a former LAPD detective, is hired by the covert FLAG (Foundation for Law and Government) organization after being shot in the head while on duty.In order to enable him to pursue justice as the resurrected Michael Knight, FLAG nurtures him back to health, performs reconstructive facial surgery on him, and makes the public believe he has died. His main tool is KITT, the sarcastic smart automobile with more high-tech devices than the average James Bond movie (voiced by William Daniels).
Since the first episode of Knight Rider debuted on television decades ago, Hasselhoff and the majority of the actors who played his friends and enemies have moved on with their lives without KITT. Some said goodbye to performing, some continued working but with less time in the spotlight, and yet others are succeeding more than ever. Discover what the Knight Rider cast is up to today by reading on.
David Hasselhoff’s tenure on television didn’t end with the finale of the first season of Knight Rider. Hasselhoff was given the starring role of lifeguard Mitch Buchannon on Baywatch after fighting for justice with KITT. Baywatch ran for an astounding 11 years. Along with a number of other film and television projects, he returned to his brief appearance as Snapper Foster in The Young and the Restless and beat Samuel L. Jackson by ten years when he played Marvel superspy Nick Fury in the 1998 TV movie Nick Fury: Agent of Shield. He also reprised the role of Michael Knight in the 1991 TV movie Knight Rider 2000.
Hasselhoff’s acting career in the twenty-first century became more and more autobiographical, with him frequently playing himself in otherwise imaginary TV shows and movies. In addition to other shows and movies, he makes appearances as himself in episodes of The West Wing, Just Shoot Me!, and even Spongebob Squarepants. He performs the same feat on the big screen as well, portraying himself in the 2011 comedy Hop and Piranha 3DD. He also made one of Marvel’s best appearances as the villain Ego taking the guise of David Hasselhoff in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In 2010, Hasselhoff and his daughters participated in the brief reality series The Hasselhoffs. In the BBC series Hoff the Record, he played a fictionalized version of himself. In 2017, he co-starred in the action comedy Killing Hasselhoff with Ken Jeong.
Hasselhoff has continued to sing; his 14th album, Open Your Eyes, was published in 2019.
William Daniels won’t be remembered for engaging in brawls with villains on Knight Rider, but that’s because he played a much more significant role. For the entire first season of Knight Rider and the 1991 television film Knight Rider 2000, Daniels provided the voice of the smart car KITT.
Daniels played the part for which he is most recognized, Dr. Mark Craig on the medical drama St. Elsewhere, before, during, and after the original run of Knight Rider. Daniels would gain a new set of admirers as Cory Matthews’ (Ben Savage) teacher in the enduring sitcom Boy Meets World, later reprising the role for the spin-off Girl Meets World, along with numerous recurring and one-off TV and film roles in the intervening years, such as parts on Scrubs, Star Trek: Voyager, The Closer, and Grey’s Anatomy. He voiced KITT for two episodes of The Simpsons, the Lego Dimensions video game, and the 2006 comedy The Benchwarmers, so he never quite left Knight Rider’s sardonic Trans Am behind.