Jason Priestley skyrocketed to fame in the '90s starring in the hit TV show Beverly Hills, 90210 for nine years. And even though he's been keeping busy directing and making appearances on various TV shows, the actor took the time to write a new book about
Jason Priestley skyrocketed to fame in the ‘90s starring in the hit TV show Beverly Hills, 90210 for nine years. And even though he's been keeping busy directing and making appearances on various TV shows, the actor took the time to write a new book about his past. Jason Priestley: A Memoir reveals new details about the 44-year-old actor's rise to fame, and even details being a roommate with then-unknown actor Brad Pitt. The former teen idol spoke to ET's Brooke Anderson about the drama on 90210 set with his co-stars Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling and Shannon Doherty.
"They were three teenage girls working in a high-pressure situation,” he recalls. “They did the best they could. Everybody did the best they could in those situations and I really didn't see all that much."
And one of the ladies he co-starred with always seemed to be in the headlines for riffs with the cast. Shannon has made many headlines in the past for being the root of drama but Jason explained that it really might be because she is so outspoken.
"I love Shannon. One of the great things that people always gave Shannon a hard time about and certainly in the tabloids … Shannon always felt free to speak her mind," the actor explained. "She was brutally honest with people. And I say that in the book, like, Shannon just spoke her mind and said whatever she felt like, which was really refreshing and fun and funny and one of the things I really enjoyed about her."
While Jason has a great relationship with his co-stars to this day, being in the spotlight wasn't always easy. Since the Beverly Hills cast was so young at the time of filming, the actor opened up about what it was like becoming famous.
"Fame is interesting. We were all relatively young people and being faced with an onslaught of fame like that, it's confusing more than anything. It's just, you don't know what to do or where to turn or who to trust."
Check out the video above to hear more from Jason, including what it was like to live with Brad Pitt back before they hit it big!