TUNEIN!BH 90210 airsWednesdaysat 9 p.m.on Fox
LASTING
CAREER
“I’m doing great,”
says Ian, who’s
working on
BH90210, has a new
Syfy movie out and
recently designed a
line of shirts for
Wood & York.
W
hen Beverly Hills,
90210 premiered in
October 1990, the
stars of the soapy
teen drama had no idea what was
in store for them. “No one knew
how big the show could be,” says
Ian Ziering, who played brash-
but-likable rich kid Steve Sand-
ers during its 10-season run. So
when the cast reunited for
BH90210, a reboot of the beloved
series in which they play exag-
gerated versions of themselves,
they had a different perspective
on things. “We’re all veterans of
the industry at this point,” the
55-year-old says of co-stars Tori
Spelling, Jennie Garth, Shannen
Doherty, Jason Priestley, Brian Aus-
tin Green and Gabrielle Carteris.
(Sadly, Luke Perry, who starred as
Dylan McKay, passed away on
March 4 at age 52 from a massive
stroke.) “We have a maturity now
that we didn’t have back then, and an
appreciation for this opportunity.”
Here, the ageless actor — who
shares daughters Mia, 8, and
Penna, 6, with his wife of
nine years, Erin
Cooper aboutreturningto thePeach
Pit after all these years, his latest
disaster flick on Syfy and his two
favorite emojis.
What was it like getting the old
crew back together?
IZ: We’ve been close over the years,
but to be back at work and sitting
in the Peach Pit was surreal. In a
good way!
Did anyone have reservations about
returning?
IZ: I think we’re all on the same
page about it. We were happy to see
each other.
Who’s changed the most?
IZ: Shannen. Because of her health
scare [she’s been in remission from
breast cancer for nearly two years],
she’s gone through a tremendous
amount of personal growth.
In the new show, you’re all
playing exaggerated versions
of yourselves, right?
IZ: Yeah. We’re all kind of carica-
tures of ourselves. So Tori plays
a mom of six; in real life she
has five.
You’ve also got the movie
Zombie Tidal Wave out on the
Syfy channel.
IZ: It’s the perfect follow-up
to the Sharknado series.
Instead of sharks and tor-
nados, we’ve got zombies and
tidal waves!
How are your daughters?
IZ: Penna is starting her career
as an actress — she wants to sing
and dance and do commercials,
which is how I started. Mia likes
drawing and arts and crafts.
YouandErinarenearingyour
10 thweddinganniversary.How
doyoukeepthe sparkalive?
IZ: Datenights!Candlelightdin-
nersanddancingcheekto cheek.I
gooutformineonFridaynight,
she goes out Saturday nights.
[Laughs] I’mjoking.
What’s been the best part about
bringing 90210 back to TV?
IZ: Being able to finally answer the
question, “When is the show com-
ing back on?” — which fans have
been asking me for 19 years! ◼
WHAT EMOJI DO YOU USE
THE MOST?
Probably the yellow face with the
sunglasses, and the thumbs-up.
WHO’S MADE YOU MOST
STARSTRUCK?
Sting. I’ve always been a fan of
his music, and several years ago
I sat down next to him at the
Cannes Film Festival and he said
“hi” to me. It was pretty cool.
WHAT WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD
NICKNAME?
Z-Man.
WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO
KARAOKE SONG?
Maroon 5’s “Harder to
Breathe.”
WHAT’S YOUR GUILTY
PLEASURE?
Probably ice cream —
Thrifty’s cookies
‘n cream.
ON A LIGHTER NOTEÉ
Ian answers our
burning questions!
FAMILY MAN
The doting dad of two says^
fatherhood has changed him^
dramatically. “It’s made me^
completely selfless.”
