Interview: Catching Up With Luke Perry

For 10 years, Luke Perry was best known for his portrayal of troubled rich kid Dylan McKay on the seminal nighttime drama “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Since the show ended in 2000, Luke has steadily been shedding any layers of Dylan that might still be associated with him, taking on roles in the gritty prison drama “Oz,” the family-oriented sitcom “What I Like About You” and even making fun of an exaggerated version of himself in “Family Guy” and “FCU: Fact Checkers Unit.”

In 2008, he starred in “A Gunfighter’s Pledge,” an original movie for the Hallmark Channel, which just so happened to be his favorite genre of film: a Western. Luke is back in the saddle in another Western for Hallmark; this time playing circuit judge John Goodnight in “Goodnight for Justice,” which premieres Saturday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. and re-airs all throughout the weekend (check local listings for times). I caught up with Luke recently, and he told me all about his latest endeavor with the Hallmark Channel.

Daytime Dial: Judge John Goodnight is a character that you created, although you didn’t write the movie. What was the process of Judge Goodnight becoming the central character in the movie?

Luke Perry: I was reading a lot about Andrew Jackson. Before he was the president of our country, he was a circuit judge. I found the time that he was a circuit judge in the Carolina hill country in Tennessee to be really interesting, and this whole idea of traveling from place to place as judge, jury and sometimes executioner. I thought, “That’s an interesting character.” I developed the story. I wrote three or four pages of what I thought the story would be. Then I met Neal and Tippi Dobrofsky, who are a husband-and-wife writing team that Ira (Pincus), the other producer, put me in touch with. And they fashioned a screenplay out of the story.

DD: Was it Hallmark’s idea to get Jason Priestley involved, or had you been wanting to work with him again?

LP: I like working with Jason a lot. There is a company involved in making this movie called Entertainment One. They work here in the United States, but they are based in Canada. So, if you are in business with them, you have to do your stuff in Canada, which means you have to have a Canadian director. And when they said Canadian, I thought, “I’ve got one of those.” That was easy enough, and it was the right way to go because he’s a smart director. It was great working with him on this. We got to prep the picture together and do the casting and all that stuff. We’ve had years and years of practice together, and it was just easy.


DD: Speaking of casting ... I felt the casting was superb. Everyone did a great job, whether they had a minor role or a major role.

LP: That’s nice of you to say, because we read with every single actor. I was told that most producers and directors don’t do that. We read with every single person that came into the room — every boy, girl, man, woman, child. It was fun for me. I mean, it was hard and made for long days, but it was so nice to hear you say that. It really is, because a lot of times those actors think, “Oh, Luke’s in the movie and it’s directed by Jason, and that is all anybody is going to notice or hear or talk about.” And to hear you make an observation like that, that makes me feel good.

DD: In this movie you get to work with horses, which you have told me you love to do.

LP: Yes, I prefer them over people.

DD: And you didn’t have to shave, so that was a bonus.

LP: Yeah, you just comb your face and get out there.

DD: How long did it take you to shoot the film?

LP: Fifteen days. We had exactly 15 days to do it, and that’s a crazy-fast schedule. That’s very much tribute to Jason and the crew, and how hard everybody was working.

DD: What are some things that you hope that the audience takes away from this movie?

LP: You hope that everybody has a sense of right and wrong. Sometimes I look at the stupid stuff that goes on in the world and I’m not so sure that everybody has a sense of right and wrong. You sort of want to give everybody the hope that if something bad happens to them, somebody somewhere is going to try to make it right in the right way. The law should not be about finding loopholes for guys like Bernie Madoff to steal billions of dollars, the guys at Enron, stuff like that. It’s the lawyers who allow a lot of that to take place. When you strip away all of that and you get down to the basics, it’s always about somebody trying to do the right thing. That’s always a great place to tell a story from.

DD: I love in the very beginning when your character, John Goodnight, says, “Every man is ordinary until he does an extraordinary thing.” It’s simple, but it’s profound.

LP: The best things in life are simple. I’ve always been a fan of the simple things. It doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be that simple, right there, just a thought that sticks in your mind. You’ve got to do something extraordinary at some point in your life.

DD: With you and your career, I like that you pick roles that are right for you. You seem to be a bit choosier than other actors. That way we get to see you in these good roles that are sometimes a bit obscure.

LP: The trick is you really have to keep trying different things and taking chances. When you get so precious about your work, or the perceptions of your work, you die creatively. As an actor you’d be dead in the water.

DD: What’s next for you?

LP: Well, what to do … I don’t know. I’ve got two more of these circuit-judge stories I’d really like to tell that I hope Hallmark will be willing to do. We are talking about that again next week, actually. But I’m definitely going to be getting back to work, I know that. I haven’t been doing much the past two or three years, and I feel good and rested and ready to go.

Jason Priestley Welcomes Son

According to WENN News:

Former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Jason
Priestley's wife has given birth to the couple's first son.

Naomi Lowde-Priestley delivered a baby boy in a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday.

The tot is a little brother for the couple's two-year-old daughter Ava.

The couple announced Lowde-Priestley's pregnancy back in April. They wed in 2005.

Jason Priestley to Return to 90210 - As a Director

A representative for The CW has confirmed that Jason Priestley will be back on the 90210 set - however, he will be behind the camera. He is slated to direct the 18th episode of the season, which should air sometime this spring.

Perhaps if he had turned out to be little Sammy's father, instead of Dylan, they could have persuaded him to come back as an actor. I know many of you, like me, hope that TPTB can still convince Brandon Walsh to return.

Also, reports are that Shannen Doherty is in talks to appear in two more episodes.

Is Jason Priestley Returning to His Old Zip Code?

Hot on the heels of the news that Tori Spelling is out of the new 90210 spin-off (rumor has is she is miffed that she wasn't going to be paid as much as Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth), CNN is reporting that Jason Priestley is in.

While I had heard rumblings that Jason was interested in returning as a director, this article on CNN.com implies that he is back as Brandon Walsh.

"To help spin the spin-off, original cast members Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley and Jennie Garth will reprise their roles as special guest stars on 90210. Joe E. Tata will return as Peach Pit cafe owner Nat."

OMG - I really hope this means that Kelly and Brandon ended up together, because I am a card-carrying member of the Dylan + Brenda Forever club!

Preview the Entire First Episode of Side Order of Life

Can't wait until July 15 to catch the premiere episode of Jason Priestley's (90210) new show, A Side Order of Life? Well, you don't have to. Yahoo! TV is showing the full episode, as well as an interview with Jason and a few other little tidbits.

http://tv.yahoo.com/a-side-order-of-life/show/39360/videos/3230066

Chatting With Jason Priestley

While my print article won't appear until July 20, I just had to share some of my interview with actor Jason Priestley (of 90210 fame, of course). I got off the phone with him literally an hour ago and am still so excited, I just had to share it with you all.

Jason is co-starring in a new dramedy from Lifetime Television called Side Order of Life. I saw the pilot episode last night, and I can tell you that this one is a winner. It was so good. It had everything: humor, pathos, drama, quirkiness -- everything you could ask for in a television show.

Plus, it has friggin' Brandon Walsh!

I asked him how he felt, with the renewed interest in Beverly Hills, 90210 since its DVD release, about the fact that some people will always see him as Brandon Walsh. Like, does he ever get tired of talking about 90210 and answering questions about it?

His response: "I guess a certain amount of people still see me as that. There is no way around that. It was one of those seminal television shows that people related to strongly. It was a big part of my career. So many of the good things in my career I owe to that show. You can't bite the hand that feeds you. You also have to be respectful of people. If someone loved the show, and loved watching you on that show, that is their opinion and you shouldn't take that away from them. 'You liked watching me on the show? Well, thank you!' You know?"

I was so impressed by his realistic and mature attitude about the show. So many actors try to forget what made them famous as they move on in their careers, and they forget where they came from. He knows that doesn't define him, and he came away with lifelong friends and great memories and experience.

Also, he was especially impressed with and happy about the fact that I had seen his movie, The Fourth Angel, where he stars alongside Jeremy Irons and Forest Whitaker. It was supposed to be released in the theatres shortly after 9/11, but because a plane gets hijacked in the beginning of the movie, of course, the studio didn't see it as appropriate to release. So, the movie kinda got swept under the rug. However, it is available on DVD. I rented it from Netflix. It really is an undiscovered gem, and ya'all should check it out. This is truly a departure from Brandon Walsh, that's for sure.

In the meantime, be sure to catch Side Order of Life on Lifetime Television. It premieres Sunday, July 15 at 8 p.m.