I wasn’t sure what to expect of Tori Spelling.
She is, after all, a legend in her own right.
The much-talked about, often mocked former Beverly Hills, 90210 star has made quite a name for herself over the years — and garnered much ridicule as well.
A lot of this centers around her show business upbringing.
Her father, of course, is famed television tycoon Aaron Spelling. One of the most legendary producers around, Aaron Spelling has produced nearly 200 TV shows and movies, including The Love Boat, Melrose Place, the original Charlie’s Angels and Beverly Hills, 90210.
Spelling was polite, friendly and quiet as a mouse (she’s so soft-spoken, in fact, that I had to crank my tape recorder up to full volume when transcribing this interview).
She quickly dispelled some of the myths people have about her.
“They perceive me as this girl who grew up in Hollywood, I have very wealthy parents, I’m an actress and I’m young,” she said in a phone interview last month.
Wealthy would be a bit of an understatement, considering the mansion she grew up in contains 123 rooms.
However, Spelling said she leads a quiet life and is a homebody at heart.
“I don’t go out,” she said. “But if I go out once in a great while that picture will be in every magazine and they’ll be like, ‘See look, she was out at all these parties.’”
According to Spelling, she leads a fairly normal existence.
“I think people probably think that actors live these glamorous lives, and I’m sure some of them do. But I did all that when I was 18, 19 – I’m 27 now and I could care less about that,” she said. “On a typical Friday night I’m home with my friends.”
One thing she does care an awful lot about (aside from acting, which is her “first love”) is cooking.
“I love to cook — which people probably wouldn’t think. They probably think I have someone that cooks for me,” she said, dispelling that myth.
So dedicated is Spelling to culinary matters, that she has enrolled in a cooking course.
“It’s been really difficult, because I didn’t know I was going to get this movie so I started taking this professional chef class. It’s a course where I actually get a degree to be a chef, it’s a five month course,” she said.
For now, she wants to concentrate on doing big budget films.
“It did seem like I kept doing just independents. That wasn’t actually intended that was just what I got,” she said with a laugh. “So it was really exciting to get this film because I felt like even though I’d done independents and I’d done a lot of comedy work in them, people would still associate me with drama and with the show.”
It’s an image she’s been trying hard to break, and so far she’s doing a great job of it. She’ll soon appear in Scary Movie 2 (in theaters July 4). Furthermore, her critically acclaimed turns in the indie hits The House of Yes and Trick have taken her a long way towards breaking out of her 90210 mold. But she’s still concerned with being stereotyped.
“I’m still worried about that, even though (90210) has been over for a year. How could you not get pigeonholed after being on a popular series for ten years? Especially growing up in the public eye,” she said. “I had begun to think that independents were more willing to take a chance. You know, big studio films are more willing to take a chance. Big studio films have certain people they use and people they won’t use. As much as I knew I was right for this part, it was always in the back of my mind that Dimension/Miramax wouldn’t hire me because I’m so TV recognizable. It was great that they took that chance. I think after this comes out, people might not see me as Donna anymore.”
Does this mean there won’t be a Beverly Hills, 90210: The Reunion?
“No! Not in the near future,” Spelling said with a laugh.
For now her future is all about Scary Movie 2, and Spelling will spend much of the summer traveling to promote the film.
Not that she minds. In fact, Spelling had nothing but positive things to say about the horror flick.
“I’m a big believer that sequels never work. I always think ‘Why do they even make sequels, there’s no point to them,’” she admitted. “But I have to be honest with you, this one is at least 20 percent funnier than the last one. I think our audience will be happily surprised.”
She added, “If people think (Scary Movie) pushed the limits, we’ve really pushed the limits in this one. Because it’s even funnier, and more out there and more outrageous.”
The film centers around a group of college students who become stranded in a haunted house.
“Our professor, (played by) Tim Curry, is doing a class on sleep disorders, a la The Haunting and he takes us to this haunted house for the weekend,” Spelling explained.
What ensues is part horror, but mostly comic hijinks.
“I play Alex, this neurotic, obsessive-compulsive, soccer-type girl,” Spelling said. “She’s really crazy. It’s a total comedic role.”
And she couldn’t be happier about it.
“I love comedy, that’s just how I am in real life. I’m just crazy and kooky,” Spelling said. “The only people who see that side of me are my friends on the weekends.”
After the release of Scary Movie 2, audiences around the globe will get to see Spelling’s funny side.
“With a movie like this, there’s no going over the top. It’s not based on reality in any shape or form so you can do whatever you want and it’s not too much. And that was really fun for me,” she said.
However, at times that can be embarrassing.
“There have been a couple of things where I’ve thought, ‘Oh my gosh I can’t believe I’m going to actually do this,” Spelling revealed. “Maybe being a comedic actress, I just kind of get in front of the crew, and we’re filming it and everyone’s laughing at it and I kind of just go for it. So I think I might be an exhibitionist at heart. But then afterwards, I go ‘Oh my God, my parents are going to be watching this!’”
And Spelling said that makes her nervous. She wouldn’t offer much information about the film, but did reveal her character has the most outrageous scene.
