Former '90210' Hunk Jason Priestley to Rob Pattinson: 'Weather the Storm' of Fame

Believe it or not, 'Beverly Hills, 90210' character Brandon Walsh actually spends his days as real-life actor Jason Priestley. Now the Canadian-born Priestley, 41, is set to take on a new role as the main character of 'Call Me Fitz,' a Canadian series picked up by DirecTV's 101 Channel. He spoke to PopEater about the new gig.

Tell me about your new show.
'Call Me Fitz' is a half-hour comedy. It's a very dark comedy. It follows the life of Robert Fitzpatrick, played by me. He's a used car salesman and he's a guy who'll do anything, say anything to sell the next car, to bed the next woman, to do whatever he thinks he needs to do to get ahead.

Sounds like a real charmer.
At first blush you can look at a character like him -- and some of the things he does can be construed as unlikeable -- and he could become an unlikeable character. But all the things he does are rooted in things that happened in his childhood and his past. As people watch the show they'll see his father is a horrible father, downright mean, and his mother abandoned the family. Fitz never had a chance, so for me as an actor, all of the things that Fitz does have to be rooted in what happened to him as a child.

Or it could just be that he's an asshole.
Well it could be but for me as an actor portraying him, I have to make it more specific than that, and I can't think he's an asshole. I have to love him.

See a 'Call Me Fitz' clip:

Really? You can't play a character you don't like?
No.

So we won't be seeing you in 'The Adolf Eichmann Story.'
[Laughs] Well, Adolf Eichmann liked himself. He thought he was doing God's work.

True, but let's not get into Nazism. You know for a lot of people you're always going to be beloved Brandon. Does that bug you?
It is what it is. Brandon was a long time ago. I've played many countless characters since then. I know that that show and that character were very iconic for a lot of people, but I think Fitz is a phenomenal character and people will enjoy this show and this character as well.

So you're saying F Brandon?
[Laughs] Yeah, pretty much.

What advice do you have for Rob Pattinson, who is the current idol of the moment?
It's cyclical. There's always a next one coming. I don't know if there's any advice, you just have to weather it, weather the storm and know that this too shall pass.

It's actually not a lot of fun.
No, because when you're really in the thick of it, it gets in the way of living your day-to-day life. Doing the most mundane things becomes increasingly difficult. It's like, "Come on guys, I'm just trying to pick up my dry cleaning, really?"

You must have had minions pick up your dry cleaning.
No! And at some point you don't want that, you enjoy the normal, mundane things of life. You don't want to turn out like Howard Hughes.

You're Canadian but you became a U.S. citizen.
I'm a dual citizen.

Good, because otherwise wouldn't they hate you in Canada?
Canadians don't hate anybody. Hate's a four letter word.

'Fitz' films in Nova Scotia. Do you go hiking or camping there?
We do. We do all kinds of outdoor activities with our kids. We have camp fires and make s'mores. My wife is British and when she discovered s'mores she thought she'd died and gone to heaven, and of course everyone here was like, "Really? S'mores, really?" I make fun of her all the time. I make fun of the way she says yogurt and aluminium.

Catch Jason Priestley's 'Call Me Fitz' on DirecTV's 101 Channel Thursdays at 9PM.

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