Denise Richards insists 'very first costar' Mario Lopez would pass “World's Toughest Test”: 'He would do awesome'

Denise Richards wasn't the best fit for Fox reality series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, which she left on the second episode. The Starship Troopers actress is afraid of heights and was even called out by her instructors for always being terrified about the extreme assignments that she and the other celebrity recruits were given.

But, she has an idea of who would do better.

"Well, actually, I just interviewed with him and he is my very first costar, on Saved by the Bell is Mario Lopez," Richards tells Entertainment Weekly. "And I asked him, when are you going to do it? He would do awesome on it. He'd make it to the end, I'm sure."

Related: Denise Richards gives an update on her breast implant injuries from Special Forces

Lopez played the macho A.C. Slater on the iconic teen comedy about the gang from Bayside High from 1989 to 1992 and in later iterations, such as the 2020 reboot. Like Slater, the real Lopez is a trained wrestler and has even been honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He has experience in other sports, too.

Richards appeared alongside Lopez on a 1991 episode of the NBC series in the uncredited role of Cynthia, according to IMDb. The Saved by the Bell episode "The Last Weekend" follows Slater and his friends as they spend their final summer days working at an oceanside resort before the new school year begins. Richards' Cynthia pretended to drown so that the lifeguard (Lopez's Slater) could save her, with the idea that it would make a meet-cute.

The role left Richards feeling embarrassed during filming of the NBC series.

"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 of lines," Richards told PEOPLE in June 2020. "It's my second acting job in my entire life, and I have to get into a bikini, and go in the ocean, pretend like I'm drowning, and have him carry me out in front of all those people. I was so embarrassed."

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Richards now frequently crosses paths with Lopez, who hosts Access Hollywood and interviews her about projects like Special Forces.

As for her performance on Special Forces, Richards can take comfort in the fact that she wasn't the first to leave the reality show, even after having ruptured her implants. Stephen Baldwin took that honor, after he had concerns about being sidelined from future work.

Related: Stephen Baldwin explains why he left Special Forces so early: 'These guys are going to kill me'

Despite being on the show for a short time, Richards was proud of everything she managed to accomplish.

"I am actually very proud of myself," she says. "I had the guts to jump off a bridge and that I jumped off. I was so happy. Even though I couldn't climb in that helicopter, I was very happy. I was able to at least grab on and hang from there. I never in a million years thought I could do that."

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly