Heroes Comic Con Belgium 2025 - Movie and Tv guests - p2

This weekend it is time for another Heroes Comic Con Belgium in the heart of Europe: Brussels. At the same time, in the same venue and on the same ticket you can also immerse yourselves in all things Asia at Heroes Made in Asia. Besides this you can also join the game and tech fun at GameForce. Today we are talking about the movie and TV guests of Heroes Comic Con Belgium and about the guests of one show in particular. Not one, not two, not even three, but four guests of "Beverly Hills 90210" will make their way to Brussels Expo this weekend. Whoop whoop!

In Los Angeles, she started auditioning immediately, while going to school in the evening. Eventually she graduated high school and started to work with Randy James. Suddenly things went very fast and Jennie started booking TV work. Within her first year in Hollywood, she landed a role in "Growing Pains", which earned her a SAG-card and also an entrance in the network casting system. In 1989, Jennie joined the cast of "Teen Angel Returns", starring Jason Priestley (does that name ring a bell?). Jennie played the role of Karrie Donato in all 13 episodes of the show. Also in 1989, Jennie played the role of Ericka McCray in the TV show "A Brand New Life". In the show she plays Barbara Eden's daughter, which was very special for her because she idolized Barbara Eden. Jennie says she loved "I Dream of Jeannie" and that she just soaked up every move Eden made. Jennie recalls that she admired her sense of professionalism and that she learned a lot from her.

In 1990, one of the biggest Tv show producer Aaron Spelling and TV show creator Darren Star started the auditioning process for a new show. The show would revolve around a group of teenagers in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Jennie went in to audition for the role of the 'bitchy' and 'snobby' rich girl Kelly Taylor. She recalls that she had no idea what she was doing, because she was a grounded Mid Western girl. Jennie tried to bring forward Kelly's real and vulnerable side, to clash with the spoiled brat with the nose job. She auditioned five times, before she finally landed the role that would change her life forever. Eventually she played the role of Kelly for 10 years and she appeared in all 292 episodes of the show. When "Beverly Hills 90210" started, Jennie was still a teenager and when it stopped she was an adult, wife and mother. From 1994 until 1996, she was married to musician David B. Clarke. While filming the 1996 movie "An Unfinished Affair", Jennie met Peter Facinelli. In 1997, they welcomed their first daughter Luca. In 2001, they tied the knot and a year later their second daughter Lola was born. In 2006, they welcomed a third daughter named Fiona. Not long after the end of "Beverly Hills 90210", Jennie landed the role of Valerie Tyler in the sitcom "What I Like About You". She played the role from 2002 until 2006. While working on the show, Jennie was diagnosed with a heart condition, that will require heart monitoring for the rest of her life. In 2007, She got the chance to do something with her childhood passion, when she appeared in season 5 of "Dancing With The Stars".

In 2008, Jennie returned to the character of Kelly Taylor in the "beverly Hills 90210" spin-off "90210" but she left the show after one season, because she had the idea that Kelly's story was told. In 2011, Jennie's 11 year old marriage with Peter Facinelli came to an end and the divorce was finalized in 2013. In 2014, she started dating David Abrams and in July 2015, they tied the knot. Although the pair separated shortly in 2017, they reconciled and have been together ever since. In 2018/2019, the cast of "Beverly Hills 90210" reunited for a reboot of the show called "BH90210". In March 2019, former cast mate and friend Luke Perry (who played Dylan McKay) passed away after a massive stroke. This came as a big shock for Jennie and the rest of the cast. Jennie has always described the cast as family and this was especially the way for Luke. The shared experience of fame at a young age connected them all forever. Although, Perry wasn't involved in the reboot series (because he was shooting "Riverdale"), he was very supportive of them doing it. A few months after Perry's death, "BH90210" premiered on TV. In the show the old cast play a somewhat exaggerated version of themselves (instead of their characters), who try to launch a reboot of the show from the 90's. Unfortunately the show got cancelled after the first season, due to poor viewing figures. In 2024, another member of the "Beverly Hills 90210" family passed away, when Shannen Doherty lost her long battle with cancer.  Although Jennie and Shannen did not always see eye to eye, they did share a great bond, which they valued very much. 

Gabrielle showed an early interest in the arts and especially in ballet. She even wound up studying ballet, while growing up in San Francisco. At one point, however, a teacher told her that she would never be tall enough to become a ballerina and that shattered her dream. Before high school, Gabrielle was a bookworm and a loner, but all of this changed when she went to Redwood High School in Marin County. Up until then she never had a social life with her peers, but when she went to Redwood, Gabrielle entered a world of parties and experimentation with drugs and alcohol. When she was 16 years old, Gabrielle performed with a mime group, during a trip through Europe. By the time she was ready to apply for colleges, she realised that there was only one thing that she wanted to become more than anything else; Gabrielle wanted to become an actress. Sarah Lawrence College (New York) was the only college she applied to, because of its highly regarded theatre program and proximity to New York City. She got in and spent her junior year in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. 

At Sarah Lawrence College, Gabrielle played Hermia in a college production of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". In 1983 (while she was in her senior year) a teacher asked her: 'Where do you see yourself in a year?'. Gabrielle did not hesitate about her answer and said that she wanted to have a TV show. It took her more than a year, but eventually Gabrielle's  dream came through. At the beginning of her working life, she had to struggle through all kinds  jobs to make a living. She was receptionist at a casting agency, production assistant and even food stylist for photo shoots. She had to endure disparaging comments about her looks from some casting agents, but one smart agent took Gabrielle on as a client. It didn't take long before she landed a spot on a TV commercial and was an extra on the soap series  "Another World". Eventually this became a recurring role on that show (8 episodes between 1984 and 1988). At that point in her career, she said she always made sure she had a job, so she would not run out of funds. In the years before her breakthrough, Gabrielle would do regional theatre in New York and fly over to LA whenever another pilot casting season would start. In Los Angeles Gabrielle would sleep on the floor in a friend's house. When she didn't get a part, she would go back to theatre in New York.

Eventually all of Gabrielle's hard work paid off, when she landed the role of Andrea Zuckerman in "Beverly Hills 90210". She was 29 years old at the time, but was supposed to play a 15 year old. She was the oldest of the cast members playing a teenager. Later on, Gabrielle revealed that she lied about her age during her audition. She told the producers that she was 21 years old, while she was actually 29 years old. When they discovered her true age, the character of Andrea was already established and the show was starting to become more and more popular. One of the producers told her she was lucky she wasn't fired at the moment they realised she wasn't as young as she said. Eventually, Gabrielle would play Andrea in 147 episodes from 1990 until 2000. In 1992, Gabrielle got married to her husband Charles Isaacs. Soon the happy couple dreamed about starting a family, so Gabrielle went to showrunner Aaron Spelling and told him about that. She said she wanted him to write in that Andrea gets pregnant, because she didn't want to have to hide her pregnancy. She said she wanted her baby to know that she was proud. According to Gabrielle, Mr. Spelling was a bit shocked at first but agreed to it. Eventually Gabrielle got pregnant from her first daughter Kelsey Rose, who was born in May 1994. In 1999, the couple was blessed with another daughter named Molly Elizabeth. Gabrielle left "Beverly Hills 90210" after 5 seasons in 1995 (she returned for some episodes in later seasons). She had her own TV talk show "Gabrielle" for a short time and kept on acting in series and (TV) movies.

In 2006, disaster struck when Gabrielle was sidelined by a workplace accident. She was rehearsing a fight scene with a much bigger man, who held her in a chokehold and dragged her down the stairs. At one point, however, she felt something go very wrong and she discovered that her face was partly paralyzed. It turned out she had suffered some nerve damage. This resulted in face and neck spasms, which finally resulted in the disability to work. But where one door closes, another one opens, because it was during this period that she gained a new appreciation for the work of her Union. Gabrielle says it became clear to her, that strength comes in numbers. When she was ready to go back to acting, she also started to volunteer at the Union. Soon she made her way up the ranks and 2012 Gabrielle was elected as executive vice president of the SAG-AFTRA. In 2016, while she was in New York to negotiate a contract for actors in commercials, she got the call that the acting president (Ken Howard) died. Two weeks later Gabrielle was elected to succeed him and she  became the new president of the SAG-AFTRA. At first she was elected to serve out Howard's term and  she was re-elected in 2017 and again in 2019. In 2021, Gabrielle was succeeded by actress Fran Drescher (known for her role as and in "The Nanny"). 

Besides of her work for the SAG-AFTRA, Gabrielle also kept on acting in movies and TV shows. And she also did voice work for video games, as well as for animated series. In 2019, the cast of "Beverly Hills 90210" reunited for a reboot about a reboot. Earlier that year, old cast mate and friend Luke Perry passed away after a massive stroke. When they got this devastating news, the old gang came together at Gabrielle's house to talk about it and shared memories. They agreed about the fact that the show should pay tribute to Luke. Five years later another one of their old cast mates passed away, when Shannen Doherty lost her battle against cancer. Gabrielle posted on Instagram that she was sure that Luke was up there to welcome Shannen with open arms. Unfortunately the reboot "BH 90210" was not picked up for a second season, but it was fun while it lasted. Last year we already met Gabrielle at the Spring Edition of FACTS in Ghent (Belgium). It is awesome to see her and other cast members return for Heroes Comic Con!

Jason grew up in a creative environment and when he was only 5 years old, he told his mother that he wanted to become an actor. His mother  introduced Jason and Justine into the business and asked acting agent Fiona Jackson to represent them. Young Jason began acting in commercials, when he was a child and later transitioned to television. During these early years of his career he played some minor (one episode) roles in series, like: "Airwolf" (1987), "21 Jump Street" (1987), "Danger Bay" (1987), "MacGyver" (1988) and "Quantum Leap" (1989).  Just before his big break, Jason started to land some bigger roles. In 1989, he played the lead role in teen fantasy drama "Teen Angel". Jason played the role of 1950s guardian angel Buzz Gunderson, who was killed in a car accident. In order to get into heaven, he has to complete various tasks and assignments. The series consisted of 12 episodes and aired on the Disney Channel. Later in 1989, Jason reprised his role as Buzz in the sequel series "Teen Angel Returns". As mentioned before, the sequel also starred Jennie Garth, who Jason would get to know a lot better soon.  Fun Fact: During these early years of his career, Jason shared an apartment with none other than Brad Pitt. In later interviews he talked about a shower competition they use to have for fun. They used to compete in who could go the longest without showering and shaving. Having to go to an audition usually put an end to a streak. According to Jason, Brad always used to win.

Jason was doing a show called "Sister Kate" (1989) when he got a call from his agent about a new Aaron Spelling pilot called "The Class of Beverly Hills". The agent said the casting crew had been looking for the male lead for a while now and they wanted to see him the next day. When he got to the Spelling offices, he ran into a bunch of actors he knew and everyone was pretty nervous. Although he did not have a show on TV at that moment, Aaron Spelling was the most successful TV producer in the world. As we all know, Jason landed the role of Brandon Walsh in "Beverly Hills 90210" and that role changed his life forever. Although Jason looks back at his time on the show as some of the best years of his professional life, he says it was also kind of scary. The show grew out to be a huge success and Brandon was one of the fan favorites, which meant there was a huge spotlight on Jason and his cast mates.all of the time. Eventually Jason played the role of Brandon for 245 episodes from 1990 until 2000.

During these years on "Beverly Hills 90210", Jason used to take on a lot of different roles, whenever the show was on a break. He did this to get as far away from Brandon as he could. Among these 'side projects' are "Tombstone" (1993, as Billy Breckinridge), "Coldblooded" (1995, as Cosmo Reif), "Biker Mice From Hell" (1995, as Jack McCyber), "Love and Death on Long Island" (1997, as Ronnie Bostock) and "Common Ground" (2000, as Billy). After "Beverly Hills 90210", Jason tried to branch out and diversify his career to prevent being typecast as Brandons for the rest of his career. During his time on "Beverly Hills 90210", Jason also developed a passion for race cars and race car driving. He started participating in amateur racing events and eventually he turned pro, competing in the Indy Racing Infinity Pro Series. In 1998, he achieved his first professional victory at the Motorola Cup Street Championship. Jason loved the speed and started branching out to other types of racing, like powerboat racing. With racing comes crashing and Jason had his fair share of it. The year 2002, however, turned out to be a dramatic year for him.  In April 2002, Jason was involved in a crash during a powerboat racing competition in Miami Beach. His boat collided with another one,but luckily he walked away unharmed from this one. This was different in August of the same year. During a practice run for the Indy Racing Infinite Pro Series at the Kentucky Auto Track, Jason's car slid into some oil on the track and he lost control over the car. He hit two concrete walls head on. Jason was transported to the hospital by helicopter, where the severity of his injuries became clear. The actor had fractured his spine and both feet. He also had head and face injuries and had to undergo multiple surgeries following the accident (including back, nose and eye surgery).

In 2016, Jason landed the role of Matt Shade in the comedy drama series "Private Eyes", which was received very well. Eventually he would play this role for 60 episodes (from 2016 until 2021). In March of 2019, something terrible happened; Jason's old cast mate, neighbour and long time friend Luke Perry died after a massive stroke. His death came as a total shock and Jason talked about how it made him think about his own mortality in later interviews. A few months after Luke's death, the gang reunited for a reboot of "Beverly Hills 90210", well not exactly a reboot. In this new show called "BH 90210", the original actors play an exaggerated version of themselves, whoo come back together trying to reboot the old series. Unfortunately "BH 90210" was cancelled after only one season, due to disappointing ratings.. After this trip down memory lane, Jason was a guest judge in 2 episodes of "Canada's got talent" (2022) and in one episode of "Fantasy Island" (2023, as Gavin Beck). In 2024 he landed the main role of George Graham in "Wild Cards", but in July 2024 he got bad news again. Shannen Doherty, his old cast mate and friend passed away after a long battle against cancer. Jason commented on social media that Shannen will be missed and that she was a force of nature... This year a spin off series of "Private Eyes", named "Private Eyes West Coast" was announced. It was also announced that the lead actors (including Jason) would return for the spin-off.

In 1981, Ian made his feature film debut in the movie "Endless Love". He played the role of Sammy, the younger brother of Brooke Shields' character. What's interesting is that the movie "Endless Love", also marked the feature film debut of Tom Cruise and James Spader. During the 80s, Ziering played in an "ABC After School Special" and in 1988, he played the role of Cameron Stewart in the soap opera "The Guiding Light". Also, Ian had a role in one episode of "Married with Children". His international breakthrough came in 1990, with a little show called "Beverly Hills 90210". Ian landed the role of Steve Sanders in the show, that grew out to be one of the most iconic shows of the 90s. "Beverly Hills 90210" revolved about the Walsh family and especially the kids of the Walsh family: twins Brandon and Brenda. When the Walsh family moves from Minnesota to Beverly Hills, the kids soon find out that it's not only glitter and glamour in one of the richest areas of Los Angeles. Ian plays the role of spoiled rich kid Steve Sanders. Steve's parents are divorced and he lives with his mother Samantha, who is a famous actress. He drives a Corvette and is popular (especially with the girls).The show and its main characters were (and still are) immensely popular. Ian was one of the original cast members that stayed on the show for all of the 10 seasons.