With over three decades in Hollywood, Jason Priestley has years of stories to tell and he’s done just that with his new book, “Jason Priestly: A Memoir.”
The actor stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Wednesday, where Kit Hoover and Billy Bush grilled him for dirt, starting with whether he ever hooked up with any of his “Beverly Hills, 90210” co-stars.
“There were multiple engagements on the show, with multiple people,” Jason said with a laugh, adding that he never kissed Tori Spelling, as the boss’ daughter was off-limits.
Despite the many inter-cast flings, the 44-year-old star said the hookups didn’t cause any on-set drama.
“Nobody ever got attached,” he said. “We never let it get in the way what we were doing. I will let you know that nobody ever got — work always superseded everything.”
Here are some other tidbits Jason shared:
On Whether He Was Really “90210’s” Resident “Bad Boy”: “I was 22 years old. I was just trying to make sure that when I did all these media things and I was talking to the press I just wanted them just to know that I wasn’t me. I wasn’t really 16, I was really a 22-year-old playing a 16-year-old! I really went out of my way to make sure that when I was doing these [press] things- I met these guys in bars… I would drink beer and hang out, smoke cigarettes— I wanted them to know that I’m a man, not this kid. It ended up that I got this reputation as this guy was always drinking and smoking. [I wasn’t] really, because I used to be working at 6:30 every morning. It sort of gave me this reputation for a while that I had to life down.”
On Getting A Bible For Christmas From Brad Pitt, His Former Roommate: “It was the late ‘80s and everybody was obsessed with being a bad boy back then. So we were all exchanging gifts after Christmas. Brad had gone home to Missouri to see his family and came back with a box of something. None of us knew what it was. And of course, we’re all handing out bottles of Jack Daniels and carton of cigarettes, trying to be cool. And Brad says, ‘I got something really special for all you guys,’ and he opens it up and starts handing out Bibles to all of us, with our names embossed on them, and he was so proud to give us all Bibles. We were all like, ‘Thanks, Brad…’”
On Paying Back “First Love” Holly Robinson Peete” For Paying For Their Dates Once He Made Money: “I was broke. I was young, a struggling actor back then and she was living a life that was in a different stratosphere than I was and I was keeping track of all the money I owed her because she liked to roll in a different class of a travel and life than I could really afford. It wasn’t long after that that I got my first show… and when I could afford to pay her back, I did. I sent her a check. It was for like $7500 or something like that. My parents raised me up right. I believe that you’ve got to keep your word. And I have that the upmost respect and love and admiration for Holly and her entire family. [They] were really kind to me when I first moved to Los Angeles and that meant the world to me.”
On His Close Relationship With Aaron Spelling & Being The On-Set “Quarterback”: I was the guy who was there all the time, which was fine with me. I was the guy who was number one the call sheet. I took the job very seriously. I always worked very hard to set the tone of the set and it was a mantle that I wore very comfortably and I was very comfortable being that guy. It’s a great responsibility and it was also great honor to be to be number one the call sheet on a TV show like that, because it’s not just the other actors that it looked up to you – it’s the crew, and it’s everybody and there are a lot of people that their livelihood revolve around what’s happening on the show and whether the show’s successful or not… Aaron was a great friend and a great mentor and a great teacher and he gave me my first opportunity to direct television when I was 23 years old. I still look back that night and I still scratch my head and wonder what he was thinking, but I’m glad he did. I went on to direct 15 episodes of the show and by the time it was over, in the end, I started producing the show with him and executive produced the show with him for two seasons. He really invited me into his inner circle in and taught me the television business in a way that nobody else could – I mean, he was the most prolific television producer in the history of television… He was a great, great, great man.
“Jason Priestley: A Memoir” is available now.
— Erin O’Sullivan
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