Jason Priestley fought back tears while remembering his “favorite directing moment” with late “Beverly Hills, 90210” co-star Luke Perry.
During a June appearance on the “Best With Them” podcast, Priestley — who made his directorial debut during Season 3 of the ’90s teen drama — reflected on working with Perry during his final stint 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, and Luke was falling to his knees, you know, looking up at the heavens and crying out,” Priestley explained.
The scene captured Perry’s character discovering that his wife, Antonia “Toni” Marchette, had been killed in a drive-by shooting, a moment Priestley remembers filming as a “big camera on a crane pull[ed] away from him in the rain.
“Luke and I were just having the best time shooting all of that stuff, and I think back to those kinds of moments a lot now that he’s gone,” Priestley added, choking up.
Perry, also known for his role in “Riverdale,” died in March 2019 at the age of 52 after suffering a massive stroke just days earlier.
Priestley fell silent, tears welling in his eyes, and simply nodded when asked whether he missed his late co-star.
In the days following Perry’s death, Priestley joined his former “Beverly Hills, 90210” castmates in paying tribute to Perry, penning an emotional statement on Instagram.
“It’s taken me a couple of days to figure out how to write this… My dear friend of 29 years, Luke Perry, was one of those truly special people who really cared…” he wrote alongside two photos of himself with Perry.
“Luke was not only a star,” Priestly continued. “He was an incredibly bright light that was extinguished far too soon… and that is why I, and so many others, are in so much pain today…
“If you had the good fortune to know Luke, or to have ever crossed his path, I know you are sad today as well… the candle that burns twice as bright only burns for half as long… you burned oh, so brightly Luke…
“Goodnight Sweet Prince,” he concluded in his caption.
In August 2024, about a month after the death of his “Beverly Hills, 90210” co-star Shannon Doherty, Priestley opened about how losing his longtime castmates had changed the way he viewed his own life.
“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 “Call Me Fitz” told The Mirror.
“Luke’s passing away was totally a shock because there was nothing wrong with him,” Priestley added. “We were neighbors as well as friends and spent a lot of time together. We shared so much.”
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