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Canadian
Jason Priestley, 30, first found fame as Brandon Walsh in
the hit TV show, Beverly Hills 90210, but quit after the
eighth season. He's currently on stage in the West End
with The Sopranos' Edie Falco in the Broadway smash, Side
Man - a tale of the forgotten men of jazz. Here he tells
us what he misses while he's away from home and secrets of
his immovable haircut!
Codes:
JE: James Ellis
JP: Jason Priestley
JE:
Are you a big jazz fan?
JP:
I am, oddly enough. I listen to a lot of jazz at home -
especially by American bands.
JE:
What other music do you listen to?
JP:
I listen to a lot of contemporary stuff - right across the
gamut really. I've been listening to Chris Cornell's
Euphoria Morning, Definitely Maybe by Oasis, and Tidal by
Fiona Apple, and today, I was listening to Serge Gainsberg.
I love him. Serge rules - he's the man.
JE:
What's it like working with Edie Falco?
JP:
She's just amazing - she's such a phenomenal actress, a
consummate professional and a pleasure to work with. But
everyone on the cast has been brilliant. Frank Wood who
won the Tony for Side Man on Broadway, Michael Mastro who
plays Ziggy is just a tour de force. The whole cast is
fantastic and they've all been doing the play for a while
and I'm just thankful that they made me feel so at home
that I didn't have a problem fitting in with them.
JE:
TV or stage?
JP:
The two are very different processes and different
disciplines. I was trained as a stage actor and all my
training was on stage, so it's very refreshing to come
back to what I trained for. There's nothing like the
response and the feedback you get from a live audience.
JE:
Would you consider yourself as a boy racer?
JP:
I probably don't qualify in that category anymore. It's a
little difficult at 30 years old; maybe I'm a man racer.
But I am a professional racing car driver although my
acting career is how I really make my living so that's
probably more important to me. I love racing and have had
a successful career in North America. Having the
opportunity to drive with and meet so many wonderful
people has been wonderful.
JE:
Virgos are said to be disciplined, has this helped your
career?
JP:
I don't know how much weight I actually give to things
like that. Not being a follower of the astrological, I
don't really know, but if that's a characteristic of
Virgos then I suppose yes. Apart from acting, I've
directed and was a producer on episodes of Beverly Hills
90210 and then there's the racing - I think you have to be
dedicated, disciplined and focused in all those - but then
I guess that's true of all careers.
JE:
Does the British sense of humour tickle your fancy?
JP:
Yes. While I've been here, as part of the promotion for
Side Man, I've been on some wacky TV shows such as The Big
Breakfast and So Graham Norton, which I enjoyed. But the
British sense of humour is something that I grew up with
in Canada. I listened to Derek and Clive and watched Monty
Python's Flying Circus and Beyond the Fringe, so I'm
pretty used to that off-the-wall British humour.
JE:
How does your hair manage to stay so intact?
JP:
I don't know! My hair's really a disaster. I've got cow
licks all over my head! All I can say is thank God for the
hair products of the 20th century!
JE:
Do you miss Beverly Hills?
JP:
Not at all.
JE:
Which was your favourite girlfriend from the show?
JP:
I ain't even touching that question brother!
JE:
What's it like to be a heart-throb? JP: I don't know -
it's never a title I'd give myself. I once had to leave a
little town that I was visiting in Ireland though, due to
the attention. But I don't think fans even give you such
titles - it always seems to be the media that decide who's
what.
JE:
Would you consider yourself to be clean cut?
JP:
Well, Brandon was very clean cut. But is Jason Priestley
as clean cut as Brandon Walsh? I don't think that's
humanly possible.
JE:
Do you like the UK?
JP:
I love the place. I guess I first came here in about 1972,
but, of course, I don't remember that trip very much. I
started visiting regularly in about 1988 and I love it
here.
JE:
What do you miss when you're away from home?
JP:
My dog Swifty.
JE:
What do you always take away with you?
JP:
My toothbrush and that's it. Oh, and credit cards - that's
all you really need isn't it? Oh, and a passport, of
course.
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