From “Beverly Hills” to Le Mans: Jason Priestley, star of this 90s American teen series, will star in a French crime TV film on France 2 on November 4, set at the famous Sarthe race track, the channel announced on Tuesday.
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This is the first time that the Canadian actor, who gained worldwide fame through “Beverly Hills, 90210” (the actual title of this phenomenal series), appears in a French work.
The now 54-year-old former blue-eyed hunk, adored by teenagers around the world, plays the role of an American police officer who comes to France for an observation internship in “Death on the Track.”
Together with a French policewoman, played by actress Eléonore Bernheim, he investigates the murder of a driver in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Everyone spoke French, it was a challenge for me to keep up with my high school French from Canada! » joked Jason Priestley during a video press conference organized by France 3 on October 13th.
“It was the first time, but I will come again as soon as I am asked,” he added, confessing his love for France, which he has visited several times, and its wines.
In the TV movie, his character speaks English and stammers a few sentences in French.
Jason Priestley agreed to the project after being “seduced by the script” of this “old-fashioned murder detective story.”
A scenario that reflects his private life: As a passionate racing driver, he took part in competitions in the past and was the victim of a serious accident in 2002.
Eléonore Bernheim (seen in the series “The Art of Crime” on France 2) accepted “Mort sur la piste” because she herself had watched “Beverly Hills” as a teenager.
“They would have told me that when I was 14! “, She smiled. “I watched diligently. (…) If we missed it with friends, I recorded it on cassettes,” added the 46-year-old actress.
“Death on the Track” also stars actor and director Olivier Marchal.
The ’90s phenomenon series “Beverly Hills” followed the lives of teenagers Brandon and Brenda Walsh, played by Jason Priestley and Shannon Doherty. One of the other main actors, Luke Perry, died of a stroke in 2019 at the age of 52.