Scheming Steve! Ian Ziering was so desperate to book Beverly Hills, 90210 back in the ’90s that he stole a bunch of scripts ahead of his audition.
“This was before fax machines or anything like that. I had to go into New York City to pick up the script. I needed to prepare for my audition the following day,” Ziering, 52, explains to Us Weekly. “And when I got up to the casting office there was a pile of scripts, but no one there. Just a sign that said, ‘Take a script and sign in.’ And I wrote the name ‘Ben Dover’ and took all the scripts.”
“I needed a job!” he adds, defending his decision. “It’s a very competitive industry and I think they hired the right Steve Sanders.”
Ziering went on to play the preppy high school student from 1990 to 2000, sticking with the show’s entire 10-season run. “I think that Steve had an incredible story arc,” he tells Us. “Spoiled rich kid to loving husband and successful businessman.” Watch Ziering in a scene from the series’ pilot episode in the video above!
Today, October 4, marks the 26th anniversary of the show’s debut. It’s been years since the gang gossiped at the Peach Pit, but Ziering still keeps in touch with everyone. Recently, he and Luke Perry hung out with their kids together. (Ziering and his wife, Erin, are parents of daughters Mia, 5, and Penna, 3. Perry is dad of son Jack, 19, and daughter Sophie, 16, with his ex-wife Rachel Sharp.)
“I brought my kids over to Luke’s house the other day and we went swimming,” Ziering tells Us. “That was a lot of fun. His kids are a lot older. I think in the near future we will probably get together with Jason [Priestley]’s kids. … When you work with someone that long it’s definitely like a family dynamic.”
Perry, 49, played dreamy bad boy Dylan McKay, who famously had a love triangle with Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) and Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth).
For more with Ziering, read his Q&A in our Now and Then series:
US WEEKLY: Where do you think Steve would be today?
IAN ZIERING: I think Steve would be in the Cloud Forest of Costa Rica, where he’d be the personal life coach to the World’s Most Interesting Man.
US: Would you want to have a reunion like all these reboots that are happening?
IZ: I see my buddies all the time! If it were to happen in front of the camera it would be a great time. I would love any opportunity to work with my former castmates again.
US: Do you have any props from the show?
IZ: A few props. I have some of Sanders’ old shirts. I got a jukebox from the Peach Pit.
US: Do you have a favorite episode that really sticks out?
IZ: We filmed 296 episodes and I enjoyed every one of them. It was an incredible experience for me.
US: Were you more Team Brenda or Team Kelly?
IZ: I think I’m more Team Steve.
