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November 5 to 11 - TV Guide

Shannen Speaks Out

‘Was she a party animal? Is she temperamental? How does she feel about her former 90210 castmates? Shannen Doherty, who stars this week in a TV-movie bio of Margaret Mitchell, answers those questions and more in a lively interview with columnist Liz Smith.

Shannen Doherty: "I'm not a Wild Girl".

Interviewed by Liz Smith. Photographs by Albert Shanchez.

Has she turned over a new leaf—or was her high-living reputation exaggerated in the first place? Heres her side

So, what's a quiet, intelligent, conservative girl doing in the wicked world of show biz? And yes, I am talking about the queen of the vizens, Shannen Doherty. Miss Doherty, 23 and an actress since the age of 10, met with me recently, to promote her NBC movie, “The Margaret Mitchell Story,” and to dispel/explain her tumultuous off-screen image. I knew nothing of Shannen other than her work on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and her rumored antics via the tabloid press—temperamental on the set, tempestuous in her personal life; a prickly, press-wary young woman. I was warned: Proceed with caution.

Imagine my surprise when I encountered Shannen in the flesh—tiny, very casually dressed, no makeup, hair unruly. She arrived at our appointed spot early, and alone. No press rep, no bodyguard, no escort—not even sunglasses! We spoke for quite awhile, and she answered questions with what appeared to be an impressively realistic view of her own—and others’—shortcomings. She clearly wants to put her past behind her, start anew. That past includes two broken engagements; a brief, sensationally publicized marriage to actor Ashley Hamilton; a reputation as a party girl; and her controversial departure from the show that made her a household name. So here's Shannen, in her own words. Judge for yourself. Personally, I liked her. And I think you would, too—away from the drumbeat of the media.

LIZ SMITH: So, Shannen, tell me about “The Margaret Mitchell Story.” Would it be too absurd to ask if you've read Gone with the Wind?

SHANNEN DOHERTY: No, it wouldn't. I did not read Gone with the Wind, although I've seen the movie, and I read every book on Margaret Mitchell.

LS: Now that we've met, I think you would have made an exciting Scarlett O'Hara. She was a young brunette with beautiful eyes. Did playing in the sequel ever occur to you? Did they ask you?

SD: They didn't ask me. And I probably wouldn't have done it, simply because it's a classic and it would be hard to repeat that without getting completely killed. And I had a much better option, which was Margaret Mitchell. Margaret Mitchell was Scarlett O'Hara.

LS: What appealed to you about her?

SD: She had so many facets to her personality. An outcast, people said awful things about her, but also complex—very, very weak, yet so strong. She was weak in her opinion of herself. She always questioned her ability.

LS: Do you feel that way?

SD: I feel that way constantly. That's something I go through every single day. You know—"Am I good enough to act?”

LS: Let's talk about your earlier character, Brenda, on Beverly Hills, 90210. You know that it's in syndicated reruns now. “The Brenda Years.”

SD: Yes—I'm dying. It was, like, four years ago when we first started. I look so different! Before I discovered tweezers!

LS: There was a feeling, as the show went on, that your character became nasty. Did you or the scriptwriters collaborate on any changes?

SD: No. It was just sort of handed to me. All of a sudden this girl from Minnesota just turned into this Beverly Hills—

LS: Bitch?

SD: Yeah. In one sense it was good, because she was a bit more realistic than the other characters. Look, everybody has a nasty side— this little side that can get very mean. Or very wrapped up in a lifestyle. Especially when they're young. And my character experienced all that.

LS: You had an emotional scene with Tori Spelling in your final show. Her character, a virgin, is upset because her boyfriend slept with another girl.

SD: Tori was such a good friend and we were always so close, working through every problem. So the scene was very real for us because we had both been there, crying, saying, “Why are we hurt?” You know, over guys—over anything.

LS: Are you and Tori still friends?

SD: You know, we don't call each other and hang out like we used to. It's hard. Her father [Aaron Spelling] was my boss, and the whole situation wasn't conducive to our friendship.

LS: Do you have any regrets, then, about leaving the show?

SD: No.

LS: Would you ever return if they asked?

SD: No.

LS: Did: you jump, or were you pushed? SD: I would say it was a mutual thing,

LS: They were fed up with you? You were fed up with them? SD: The truth of it was that you had two egos—the Spelling company and Fox. And I think the things they wanted from me— to talk to them about my personal life, to come to an agreement—I wasn't willing to give. If I'd been willing to give them those things, I would still be on 90210.

LS: In a recent magazine that featured the new 90210, not only was your name on the cover, but you were mentioned everywhere inside. You're historical, darling.

SD: That must be very hard for [the cast] now. …And I'm sure they're all looking and saying, “Well, she’s gone. Now it’s our turn to get out there and shine and get what we deserve.” And they all deserve it. [But] I'm sure the more the press says Brenda, Brenda, Brenda, the more agitated they're going to get.

LS: You think it's self-defeating?

SD: Very. It's like, if you're happy I'm gone, then stop commenting on me. Stop saying things about me…it's petty and childish. I wish them all well. And there are some of that cast that I'm still close to and adore, [but] I don’t need to make any comments. It's in my past.

LS: Do you think of yourself as the temperamental, tempestuous person you've been portrayed as?

SD: No. I really don't. What's interesting is that none of my friends—those who truly know me, my parents, my boyfriend—see me as being temperamental. Because you have to push, push, and push for me to get upset. But, looking back on it now, there was definitely a more diplomatic way for me to handle what I was going through. But I was young…

LS: You've had a lot of notoriety.

SD: The notoriety…all of a sudden being written up in the newspapers—it was like, wow, what's going on? It was confusing, because I don't think you should do things in your personal life differently because you're a role model. But the character should, because younger kids watching the show are impressionable. And I began to complain quite a bit about the show straying away, turning into a soap opera.

At the same time, the flip side of me, the personal side, was enjoying being young. For the first time. I'd been working since I was 10, never really went out and partied. Suddenly you get a hit show and some money, and I just wanted to live life. But they didn’t let me be young. They just turned it into—

LS: That you were wild.

SD: That I was a party animal and I was a wild girl and I'm not. How can I be? I'm from the South. [laughter] You know. I'm a Southern Baptist. I can't be that wild. …I have a conservative point of view. I mean, I'm a Republican.

LS: How do you feel about having started so young? Do you think it's harmful for a child to be thrown into the business?

SD: I think in a lot of ways it was good for me. I learned a lot, fast. And I wasn't pushed by my parents, either. It was my choice. It was something I wanted to do.

LS: You pushed your parents!

SD: I pushed my parents. And they're not very supportive of this business. They're supportive of me, but not this business, because they've seen what it has done. It has hurt me in a lot of ways—hurt my feelings and hurt theirs.

LS: Are you close to them?

SD: Very. I see them almost every day. They're there for me. My dad is an off-shore banker and one of my best friends. My older brother is also a good friend. They are very supportive, very loving.

LS: Yet if you had a child, would you want him or her to go into show biz?

SD: No.

LS: Let's talk some more about the press and your “reputation.” Do you feel you've been misunderstood a lot?

SD: Absolutely. But, like I said, I can’t blame it all on them. I have to take partial blame. You know? I have to. And all I can basically say is, “I'm sorry.” I might have messed up a bit. Certainly nothing I ever did warranted their taking it to the extreme they did.

LS: What if you had been a guy on the show? Would it have happened?

SD: None of this would have happened. I'm a woman, and I'm strong and they said, “Great, we have a new bitch. So let's go after her.” There's not one cast member of 90210 who didn’t throw a tantrum or two themselves.

LS: OK, now I have to ask these tabloid-type questions, because we'd be remiss in our duty if we didn't. What about the reported bad checks you wrote?

SD: Years ago. I have no financial problems now. I have good people working with me. It's time to stop rehashing and move on.

LS: What about reports that you've beaten up past boyfriends, like Judd Nelson?

SD: That's just stupidity on anybody's part. How can anyone look at me—all of 92 pounds—and think I'm beating up some 180-pound guy? A complete and utter lie.

LS: So you never tried to run down a photographer in your Porsche?

SD: No.

LS: What about the explicit scenes you did in “Blindfold,” the USA TV-movie. Did you have second thoughts about those?

SD: First of all, half that stuff wasn't me. It was a body double. And in most of those scenes, my voice was looped in by somebody else. And I didn't know about it until I saw the movie!

LS: And the Playboy photos?

SD: Playboy asked me to pose, for alot of money. And I just didn’t want to. And then a photographer came along—I adore him, Michel Comte—and says he’s doing this safe-sex book for AIDS and asked me to participate. So I do these photos, and all of a sudden they come out in Playboy! I thought they were meant for a book.

LS: There are a couple of more questions the editors insisted we ask: Given the reports of your wild times, is there any history of violence or drinking in your family? Have you ever had any problem with drinking or drugs?

SD: Violence or drinking? Why—because the editors like believing what everybody else believes? I really don't care what they say. I care about what [my new directors and castmates] say. They matter. If they can walk away saying, “She was professional, she showed up on time, she gave 150 percent’—that is what matters to me.

LS: It seemed to me, in covering the story of your marriage, that you and Ashley Hamilton were very much in love. Why couldn't you make it work?

SD: I did love Ashley, but we separated after five months. It was me jumping into something very, very fast before I knew someone. I think it was more of—I needed to feel loved. And I loved him, because I think his heart was very, very good. However, there were things about him that I didn't find out until we were married. Things I couldn't overlook. And it was one of the most unhealthy relationships I've ever been in.

LS: Really.

SD: I wish him well, and I hope he gets past all his problems. But I couldn't be there to… tried. I tried to help him. But I wasn't willing to let myself be destroyed by another person. It was time for me to start taking control of my life. Stop being a victim—of men, the press, my own ideals about marriage. I mean, my parents have been married 28 years!

LS: So you have high expectations?

SD: Very high expectations. I have serious relationships. Unlike the past, the love I have now—{director] Rob Weiss—is my best friend, a teacher. I respect him. And we don't go out much. We prefer to sit home, cook dinner together, write together.

LS: Shannen, you've been great. I was influenced by your tabloid image as a wild, party girl. And I thought if you didn’t like some of the questions, you might storm out or knock me flat.

SD: I'm just a nice, Southern Baptist, Republican girl!

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