The boy was born into a poor and unremarkable family, nothing boded that his biography would be so rich. However, from the age of 12, Luke Perry began to dream of an actor career. The guy immediately realized that in the small town of Mansfield, where he was born, nothing shines for him. Therefore, Luke decides to move to Los Angeles, which he does right after school.
But popularity was still far away, the guy had to master several professions, but at the same time, he participated in all kinds of castings. Interestingly, the actor went through as many as 215 screen tests, which he successfully failed.
The turning point in the biography of Luke Perry was the shooting of the video for the American group Twisted Sister. The directors noticed the charismatic guy and began to offer him roles. They may have been secondary, but they helped Luke gain the necessary experience.
The first steps
At first, life in a huge metropolis was not at all the way the young ambitious provincial imagined. At auditions and auditions, he was most often pointed to the door, so Luke had to sell shoes, install door knobs and even lay asphalt to make a living.
Fate took pity on him in 1985 when the young man was lucky enough to star in a video with Alice Cooper in the clip of the then-super popular rock band Twisted Sister. Finally, the directors drew attention to the charming young handsome man who looked great in the frame. Luke got a small role in the TV series “Lovers” and “Underworld”, which, although they did not become his finest hour, helped the aspiring actor to gain the necessary experience.
Finest hour
In 1990, Perry was invited to a casting in the new youth series “Beverly Hills, 90210”, which was launched by Aaron Spelling. At first, Luke auditioned for the role of Steve Sanders, but in the end, it went to Ian Ziering. But Spelling liked the young actor, and the producer offered him the role of a minor character – Dylan McKay, a charming adventurer, and conqueror of women’s hearts.
Dylan’s storyline wasn’t supposed to come out in a couple of episodes. But the character was so fond of the viewer that he became one of the central characters of the narrative.
Already in the summer of 1991, it became obvious that the series was a lucky ticket for all the young actors who took part in it. The story of “golden” teenagers, who experienced the same problems on the screen as their peers from ordinary families, became a real TV hit of the 90s.
Dylan McKay. For ten seasons, viewers with undisguised interest have followed the life ups and downs of the heroes, who during this time managed to become their idols. “Beverly Hills” stars not only Luke, but also Shannen Doherty, Tori Spelling, Jenny Garth, and Jason Priestley. Perry starred in the series through 1995 and left after playing six seasons. After leaving the series, Perry decided to switch to the big cinema. He played a policeman in the crime tape “Normal Life” (1995) and appeared in the cult “Fifth Element” by Luc Besson (1997). However, the image of Dylan is so firmly stuck to the actor that the audience hardly perceived him in other roles. And the fees were incomparably less than the gigantic amounts that he earned in the series. Therefore, in 1998, the actor returned to Beverly Hills (mainly for financial reasons) and remained in it until the last season, which was released in 2000.
Career
Luke Perry gained wide popularity after the popular youth series “Beverly Hills 90210”, which aired from the 1990s to the 2000s. At the time filming began, the actor was 24 years old.
In the series, he played Dylan McKay – a handsome man from Beverly Hills, who in the first episodes appears as a single guy who abuses alcohol and drugs. Soon he meets Brenda (the heroine of Shannen Doherty), who becomes his lover, and her brother Brandon (the character of Jason Priestley) Welch – with him, Dylan strikes up a strong friendship.
The pair of Dylan and Brenda was one of the favorites among fans of the series, despite the fact that their relationship did not last very long in the series – Dylan cheated on Brenda with Kelly (Jenny Garth’s heroine), and McKay himself was one of the most popular characters in the series. Luke Perry and Shannen Doherty have become close friends thanks to their filming in Beverly Hills.
The heyday of the actor’s career came precisely in the 90s of the last century. Then Perry starred in several feature films, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 8 Seconds, and The Fifth Element.
Over the past few years, several films and TV series have been released with his participation (but there are no high-profile pictures among them). In 2020, he began filming the TV series Riverdale, which was suspended after his death.
Luke Perry’s last film will be released this year, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, opposite Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie.
