The two actors became close during their time working on the series and were both friends and neighbors later in life
Credit: Fox; ARNAL/CHARRIAU/CATARINA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Jason Priestley and Luke Perry became close during their time on Beverly Hills, 90210
- Priestley recently shared how Perry played a part in one of his favorite experiences as a director, toward the end of the beloved series
- Perry died in March 2019 at the age of 52, one week after having a stroke
Jason Priestley is remembering his late friend and costar Luke Perry.
Priestley appeared on the Best with Them podcast, where he was asked about his work as a director. The 56-year-old has been directing since his days on Beverly Hills, 90210, helming some major episodes in the show’s later seasons. Asked about his favorite directing moment, the actor-turned-director recalled working with Perry on his final arc as Dylan McKay.
“My favorite directing moment? In Luke Perry’s last episode that he ever did, you know, Luke falling to his knees in the rain — we had rain towers everywhere — Luke was falling to his knees, looking up at the heavens, and crying out,” Priestley reflected.
Of capturing the moment, in which Dylan discovers that his wife, Toni, had been shot and killed, Priestley explained, “I had the camera on a crane, pulling away from him in the rain.”
“Luke and I were just having the best time shooting all that stuff and I think back to those kind of moments a lot now that he’s gone,” he added, choking up as he mentioned Perry’s death.
When asked if he missed the late actor, Priestley simply nodded while trying to hold back tears.
Perry died in March 2019 at the age of 52, one week after experiencing a stroke. In the March 2025 CW documentary, I am Luke Perry, Priestley explained that he learned of Perry’s stroke from their fellow Beverly Hills, 90210 costar, Jennie Garth.
“Jennie told me that Luke had had a stroke and they were — and he was on his way to the hospital,” he recalled. Though he was “shocked” and “stunned,” Priestley said he remained hopeful, drawing on his own familial experience with the medical episode.
“I’m an eternal optimist,” he said. “I thought, ‘Yeah, he’s had a stroke. My dad had a stroke a few years ago. He’ll be okay.’ ”
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Priestley turned 50 in August 2019, months after Perry’s death. In a 2024 interview with The Mirror, he opened up about his mindset in the aftermath.
“It has made me think about my own mortality. I woke up on my 50th birthday and I realized that I’d already lived most of my life,” the Wild Cards actor, a former race car driver who had a serious accident in 2002, said.
“Luke’s passing away was totally a shock because there was nothing wrong with him. We were neighbors as well as friends and spent a lot of time together. We shared so much,” he added.
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