Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor and film director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role which catapulted him to fame in the early 1990s.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Born Jason Bradford Priestley on in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Priestley became a naturalized American in 2007. He is a graduate of Argyle Secondary School in North Vancouver. He has a twin sister, Justine Priestley, and two step siblings, Karin and Kristi. He is of English ancestry.
Career[]
In 1990, Priestley was chosen as Brandon Walsh on the hit series Beverly Hills, 90210. He also directed nineteen of the show's episodes. He remained on the show until 1998, when Brandon moved to Washington, DC. Brandon was the last Walsh to leave the show, however, Priestley would continue to serve as an executive producer until the show's cancellation in 2000.
Priestley joined the cast of Tru Calling as Jack Harper from 2004-2005. He was also a regular on the 2006 program Love Monkey. His television work also includes the 1989 series Sister Kate, the WB show What I Like About You, and a February 2006 appearance on Without a Trace. Priestley has also made several films, his most notable role perhaps being in 1997's Love and Death on Long Island, in which he played a teen idol struggling to be taken seriously as an actor. He directed the nineteenth episode in the final season of 7th Heaven. He also directed an episode of The Secret Life of the American Teenager "Slice of Life"and "Just Say No". They appeared on August 26, 2008 and September 9, 2008 on ABC Family.
On he returned to series television as one of the lead males in Lifetime Television's comedy-drama Side Order of Life.
On TV Guide announced that Priestley will make a guest appearance on NBC’s My Name Is Earl. Priestley will play Blake, Earl's better-looking and more successful cousin.
On , TV Guide reported that Priestley will direct the 18th episode of 90210 and will also direct five episodes of Secret Life. Priestley directed the episode when Tori Spelling returns to the 90210.
Personal life[]
Priestley dated 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty between 1990-1991, later admitting on The Howard Stern Show that the two had slept together. Between 1992–1997, Priestley lived with actress Christine Elise, who had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210 as Emily Valentine. In 1999, he married make-up artist Ashlee Petersen, whom he met on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210. They divorced in 2000.
In 2005, he married make-up artist Naomi Lowde. On , he became a father to daughter, Ava Veronica, with his wife Naomi. The baby weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz at birth. On April 13, 2009, Priestley announced that he and his wife are expecting their second child a son.
On , he revealed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that he had become an American citizen several weeks prior.
Priestley has a twin sister, Justine Priestley, who is also an actress. He tried to get her to audition for the role of Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills 90210, and, although this never came to pass, she did appear in a couple of episodes on the 90210 spin-off show Melrose Place in 1996.
Race car driving[]
His hobbies include race car driving. He rallied a Toyota Celica All-trac ST185 in the SCCA Pro Rally Series. He has provided commentary and interviews of racers for ABC's television coverage of IndyCar racing. In 1999 he participated in the first Gumball 3000 rally, driving a Lotus Esprit V-8. On , he was seriously injured during a practice run at the Kentucky Speedway when his Indy Pro Series car crashed into a wall at nearly 180 miles per hour. He made a quick and full recovery.
According to a January 2008 Associated Press article, it was announced that Priestley would become a joint owner in a new IndyCar Series team. The new team will be known as Rubicon Race Team managed by co-owner Jim Freudenberg. They initially entered a car in the 2008 Indianapolis 500. The car was prepared by Indianapolis-based Sam Schmidt Motorsports and the driver was be Max Papis.
In the article, Jason was interviewed and said, "I'm excited to be able to spend the month of May in Indy with my good friends and be a part of the greatest open wheel race," "It's been more than five years since my accident, and it's going to be so good to get to see everyone." Despite the team's enthusiasm, it suffered a crash during the second weekend of qualifying then had subsequent gearbox problems and failed to qualify for the race.
The team will return for a full 2009 IndyCar Series season, having merged with Pacific Coast Motorsports.
Promotional activity for Barenaked Ladies[]
Priestley is a big fan of the band Barenaked Ladies and went to many of their California concerts in the early to mid-1990s. He eventually met the band and in his desire to help them succeed, suggested that he direct the music video for "The Old Apartment", and used his fame to persuade American stations to air it. He did just that, and also invited the band to play at the "Peach Pit After Dark" on an episode of 90210. Lead singer, Ed Robertson, continues to cite him as being instrumental in their American success. His final notable contribution to the band came when he directed a feature-length documentary about the band's 1999 whirlwind of success entitled Barenaked in America, intending to capture on film the fun he had while riding around on the tour bus with the band.
Filmography[]
Future Projects[]
Dougray Scott, Brian Cox, Eddie Izzard and will also feature in the show, written by Patrick Harbinson, whose credits include ER and Law & Order. The drama is based on John Wyndham's best-selling post-apocalyptic novel, The Day Of The Triffids. [1]
Awards and nominations[]
- 2003: Nominated, "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series" - The True Meaning of Christmas Specials (shared w/co-stars)
- 1993: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series (Drama)" - Beverly Hills, 90210
- 1995: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series (Drama)" - Beverly Hills, 90210
- 1990: Nominated, "Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Television Series" - Sister Kate