IMDB · Instagram · TheMovieDB.com · TV Maze

Producer · Actor · Director

1969-08-28 · Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada · Male

72 series in the catalog

Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor and television director. Priestley starred as virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–1998, 2000). His other television roles include Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in the show Call Me Fitz (2010–2013) and Matt Shade in the Canadian series Private Eyes (2016–2021).

Early life

Jason Bradford Priestley was born on August 28, 1969, in Vancouver, British Columbia to father Lorne Dale Priestley and mother Sharon Kirk who was an actress and acting coach.

Career

Priestley first started his television career doing commercials for companies such as Fletcher's Meats and then guest-starring as Bobby Conrad a.k.a. Roberto Coronado Jr., a mobster's grandson, in the early 1987 episode "A Piece of Cake" from the fourth and final season of the television series Airwolf, and appeared in two episodes of 21 Jump Street in 1987–88, as 'Pencil' on Quantum Leap (E1S8 May 1989), then moved on to the 1989 short-lived sitcom Sister Kate, which starred Stephanie Beacham. He played Todd, one of the foster children under the care of Sister Kate, an English nun.

In 1990, Priestley was chosen as Brandon Walsh on the hit series Beverly Hills, 90210. The show garnered worldwide fame and popularity and made Priestley a teen idol. He was nominated for two Golden Globes for his work on the show. He also directed 15 of the show's episodes. He remained on the show until 1998, when Brandon moved to Washington, D.C. Brandon was the last Walsh to leave the show; however, Priestley would continue to serve as an executive producer until the show ended in 2000.

Priestley joined the cast of Tru Calling as Jack Harper during 2004 and 2005. He was also a regular on the 2006 program Love Monkey. His television work also includes the WB show What I Like About You and a February 2006 appearance on Without a Trace. Priestley has also made several films, his most notable role perhaps being in 1997's Love and Death on Long Island, in which he played a teen idol struggling to be taken seriously as an actor. He directed the 19th episode in the final season of 7th Heaven. He also directed two episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager: "Slice of Life" and "Just Say No." They appeared on August 26, 2008, and September 9, 2008, on ABC Family.

On July 15, 2007, he returned to series television as one of the lead males in Lifetime Television's comedy–drama Side Order of Life. During an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, he announced that he had become a naturalized United States citizen. Priestley made a guest appearance on NBC's My Name Is Earl in 2008. He played Blake, Earl's better-looking and more successful cousin. That year, Priestley directed five episodes of Secret Life. Priestley directed the episode when Tori Spelling returned to 90210. In 2009 Priestley directed and co-produced all 12 episodes of the Web series The Lake on TheWB.com. In December 2009 along with Dougray Scott, Brian Cox, and Eddie Izzard, Priestley was featured in The Day of the Triffids, written by Patrick Harbinson, whose credits include ER and Law & Order. The drama is based on John Wyndham's best-selling post-apocalyptic novel, The Day of the Triffids.

Throughout the 2010s, Priestley continued to work as a television director, helming episodes of series including Saving Hope, Working the Engels, The Night Shift, Rookie Blue, Dark Matter, Van Helsing, Ghost Wars, and his own series Private Eyes. Priestley directed his former co-star Luke Perry in the Hallmark Channel movie Goodnight for Justice, which aired in January 2011.

He guest-starred as one half of a con artist couple alongside Jennifer Finnigan in a sixth-season episode of USA's Psych and also appeared in the music video "Boys" by Britney Spears. Priestley starred as the main character of the HBO Canada TV show Call Me Fitz from 2010 to 2013. It ended after its fourth season in December 2013.

In August 2011 Priestley joined the cast of sci-fi television show Haven, in a recurring role during its second season and made two appearances in the final season. He also directed two episodes.

Priestley's feature film directorial debut was the independent road trip comedy Cas & Dylan, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Tatiana Maslany.

In 2013, Priestley directed one episode of the CTV television series Satisfaction.

In April 2013, Priestley appeared in Canadian Stage's production of Race, a David Mamet play, in Toronto at the Bluma Appel Theater. In 2015, Priestley starred alongside Gael García Bernal in Zoom, a comedy directed by Pedro Morelli that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In May 2016, Priestley began starring in the Global TV Network comedy–drama series Private Eyes, in the role of Matt Shade, a former hockey player turned private detective.

In August 2016, Priestley was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

From 2016 to 2018, Priestley starred opposite Molly Ringwald in Raising Expectations. In addition to starring in the series, Priestley directed several episodes.

Jason Priestley was nominated for best lead actor in a comedy series for The Movie Network's Nova Scotia-filmed Call Me Fitz.

In 2019, Priestley reunited with his original Beverly Hills, 90210 castmates Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, and Tori Spelling for BH90210, which was a six-episode series in which the cast played heightened, fictionalized versions of themselves. The series aired in August and September 2019 and was canceled after one season.

Starting in 2024, Priestley played George Graham, the incarcerated con-artist father of lead character Max Mitchell, in the CBC/CW crime-comedy series Wild Cards, continuing in the role through the show's third season.

In 2025, it was announced that Priestley would reprise his role as Matt Shade, in Private Eyes: West Coast, a spinoff of Private Eyes set in Victoria, British Columbia, four years after the original series concluded.

Personal life

In 1999, Priestley crashed his Porsche car into a telephone pole in Hollywood Hills and was arrested for driving while under the influence. His driver's license was suspended for a year, and he was ordered to complete an alcohol-management program.

Priestley and make-up artist Ashlee Petersen married on February 2, 1999, and divorced 11 months later on January 2, 2000. On May 14, 2005, Priestley married Naomi Lowde, also a make-up artist. On July 2, 2007, the couple had a daughter. On April 13, 2009, Priestley announced that he and his wife were expecting their second child. On July 9, 2009, the couple had a son.

On July 9, 2007, he revealed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that he had become an American citizen several weeks earlier.

In 2013, the restaurant chain Tim Hortons created a new doughnut in Priestley's honor, called The Priestley. The new doughnut was not rolled out on a nationwide scale, though.

On May 6, 2014, HarperOne published Priestley's autobiography Jason Priestley: A Memoir.

In December 2017, amid renewed public scrutiny of Harvey Weinstein following sexual misconduct allegations against him, Priestley said on Twitter that he had punched Weinstein in the face during a Miramax party after the 1995 Golden Globe Awards, after Weinstein told him to leave and then grabbed his arm. Priestley later said he had not recognized Weinstein at the time of the altercation and only learned his identity the next day.

In 2024, Priestley relocated with his wife and two children from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee, saying the decision was driven by finding a school in Nashville that worked for both of his children.

In July 2024, following the death of his former Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty, Priestley paid tribute to her on social media, describing her as "a force of nature." He later said in an August 2024 interview that her death still came as a surprise to him despite…