Go Metro September 3rd 2014
Shannen Doherty, 43, is best known for TV shows Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed. Her last movie was Blood Lake: Attack Of The Killer Lampreys

Beverly Hills 90210 is being repeated – when was the last time you saw it?

A couple of years ago. I was flipping channels and I took a picture of me and Jennie Garth real quick and sent it to her then switched channels. It’s awkward to watch myself at that age, though I look back on it fondly. It was great and cutting edge for the time. We were doing something no one had done before. We were a bunch of kids living this fantastic life and it provided us all with a really great opportunity.

It was sold around the world. Did that open any doors for you?

We came to England and met Prince Andrew. That doesn’t happen every day.

What impact did the show have on your career?

A big one. I had a good career before 90210, but it made me a household name. With any good comes bad and there were moments of getting myself and my character confused – maybe that success came when I wasn’t ready for it. But in the long run I think: ‘Wow, what a show to be part of.’ From there I got to work with director Kevin Smith.

You got some negative press – did that have an adverse effect on work you were offered?

I’m sure it did, but you can’t focus on that. You just have to put your head down and move forward as best you can, which is what I’ve tried to do.

Your former 90210 co-star Ian Ziering has done Sharknado, made by the same producers as Blood Lake: Attack Of The Killer Lampreys. Would you like to be in Sharknado 3?

They were different movies and I wasn’t aware it was the same production company. Ours was a horror film and we didn’t strive for Sharknado’s success nor hit it.

What have you enjoyed working on the most?

There’s something good about every project I’ve done. Charmed was a fantastic experience and I love doing Kevin Smith movies. Each project has offered me a learning experience.

Have you read Jason Priestley’s book yet? No.

Do you have plans to do so? No. Jason’s a great guy but everyone has their own version of the truth and I don’t think his version is exactly accurate. I love him dearly and wish him the best and hope his book does well… but I heard he wrote something about me demanding limos, but everyone knows I hate limos. And there’s something about me complaining about a private jet – but I wasn’t even on the jet. The objective of people who write these ‘tell all’ books is to sell books and maybe sometimes the truth gets lost between editing and publication. Maybe that’s what happened or maybe that’s what he remembers.

Would you do your own book?

No. Maybe when I’m 80 I’ll do my own book and throw people under the bus, but at the moment I have no desire to do so because first and foremost I’m an actor. Sets are supposed to be a sanctuary. I look at it as ‘what happens on the set stays on the set’. Although I could tell amazing stories about everyone I’ve worked with, I’m not that girl.

What do you are think the common misconceptions people have of you?

I don’t know. If I worry about what people think of me I’m not being true to who I am. My friend Holly Marie Combs from Charmed said: ‘People’s opinions of me are their business not mine.’ I’ll go with those wise words.

Did you really not realise Heathers was a comedy until the film premiere?

Yeah, I wasn’t sure what Heathers was – I knew it was different and genius but did I realise it was a comedy? Probably not. I was 17 and sheltered – I’d never been on date, I didn’t have driver’s licence, I’d never even cursed – so that script in the comedy sense went right over my head. I thought we were doing something about the social pressure that’s on kids in high schools. Then it turned out to be a comedy and a really good one.

Beverly Hills 90210 is on CBS Drama on weeknights at 9pm.