I'm not a teen idol

It's playtime: Perry with his West End co-star Alyson 'Willow' Hannigan

10 April 2012

Some people never quite recover from early fame and Luke Perry, who played Dylan in the 1990s hit series Beverly Hills 90210, is one of them. Perry likes to insist that he just wants to be taken seriously as an actor; that there is nothing he loathes more than screaming girl fans or seeing his face on the cover of a glossy magazine.

Make the mistake of referring to his glory days in the past tense, however, and the frost descends. He curls his lip; then pulls his baseball cap down over his face. Finally, like a sulky teenager (although, in fact, he is 38), he emits an ostentatious sigh.

We are sitting on a too-small leather sofa backstage at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. This is uncomfortable. Perry is short and pinched-looking (the James Dean looks have dimmed over the years) but alas, when he is not doing mean and moody, he still has a compulsive need to flirt.

"That's better," he whispers, parting my hair and tucking it carefully behind my ears. "I hope you don't mind me touching you," he purrs, eyes boring into mine. He looks so insincere - like some tired old end-of-pier hypnotist - that it's all I can do not to laugh out loud.

Perry is in town to appear in the world premiere of the stage version of When Harry Met Sally (he is Harry; Sally is played by Alyson Hannigan, aka Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer). "I think it's going to be a classic," he says. "They'll still be doing it in 50 years."

It is, he pronounces, much more exciting to see one's name in lights above a theatre than on a newsstand. He gestures at the walls, which are decorated with photographs of distinguished thespians. "Look at Gielgud. I didn't see him on a lot of magazine covers."

Perry joined the cast of Aaron Spelling's high-school soap in 1990, and stuck with it on-and-off until 2000, when it was axed. At the height of its success, he was so hot that one shopping mall was virtually wrecked when 10,000 fans showed up hoping for an autograph. Since then, however, he has faded from view.

As an actor, does he feel his looks have been a curse or a blessing? A long-suffering groan. "The interesting thing about Hollywood is that people look at you and think they can determine what your capabilities are. Look at Charlize Theron. She's a good actress, but is so beautiful that people think that's all she can play. Then she wins a Golden Globe for a part [as the serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster] where she looks yuck. I don't know if I am goodlooking or not. All I know is that I want to play parts that take me to places, and I don't give a f*** what I look like."

Has he ever gone after an "ugly" role himself ? "I've tried to gain weight for roles, but I couldn't. I eat like a pig, but the weight doesn't go on. It's very frustrating."

I ask if fame, which came at the tender age of 23, changed him. "No. I coped with the attention by refusing to participate. There was a time when people were saying too many nice things about me. So I had my best friend from school visit, and I said: 'Stay with me, don't let me turn into one of THEM.' I know George Clooney and it's the same with him."

Perry grew up in Frederickstown, Ohio, where his father, a violent drunk, worked in a steel mill (his parents later divorced, and it was his mother's new husband who taught him "everything I know about being a man"). At 17, he headed for LA, but the work did not exactly come rolling in. At his lowest point, he lived in a rat-infested motel where he fell ill with spinal meningitis. After he recovered, he spent four years waiting tables until he landed his first job, in the soap Loving. Two years on, he got 90210.

How did he cope with the years of rejection? "You have to consider who's doing the rejecting and why. They weren't rejecting me personally; they didn't know me personally." Then, with rare humour, he adds: "Most of them don't know themselves personally."

He has an equally bullish attitude towards the critics. "They think they have influence. Well, I don't pay attention to them. I've had good reviews and bad, and neither has helped me with my work."

In the glory days, when he appeared on every list of eligible bachelors, Perry's name was linked with everyone from Madonna to his gay friend Alexis Arquette. But, in 1993, to much wailing and gnashing of teeth from his fans, he married Minnie Sharp, the British-born daughter of a Los Angeles screen writer. The couple have two children, Jack and Sophie, but separated last year. Perry will not talk about this: "My family didn't choose fame, and I feel bad inflicting it on them."

He has no idea what he will do when he finishes his stint on When Harry Met Sally. "I'll be here until they throw me out. Then, I don't know. Wouldn't it be something if this were my last job?"

Is he ambitious? He furrows his brow. "I keep thinking I want to figure-out a way to deal with homelessness. But I hate it when actors start on about how they want to change the world. Every time Richard Gere opens his mouth, I want to shout: 'Shut up!'"

Actually, I was wondering more about his acting ambitions. "Gotcha. Well, I'd like to make a movie about Evel Knievel. There's no one better suited to playing Evel than me." And with that, he wraps his coat around him, pulls on his hat and, "disguise" in place, tries not to look too hopeful as he goes into the night.

When Harry Met Sally previews from 10 February. Information: 020 7930 8890.

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