Teen Drama Stars Who Directed Episodes of Their Shows
We love seeing teen drama stars in front of the camera, but a number of them have also stepped behind it to helm episodes of their shows.
It all started with Jason Priestley, the first cast member to direct an episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” He went on to become one of the series’ most prolific directors. What’s more is that he actually directs more these days than acts.
What about other series regulars on “Beverly Hills, 90210” and the other core teen dramas? Below you’ll find a list of the main cast members who directed installments of their respective shows and the names and numbers of those episodes.
Beverly Hills, 90210
Jason Priestley (Brandon)
Episode 3.24, “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”
Episode 4.10, “And Did It… My Way”
Episode 5.17, “Sweating It Out”
Episode 5.29, “The Real McCoy”
Episode 6.03, “Must Be a Guy Thing”
Episode 6.15, “Angels We Have Heard on High”
Episode 6.17, “Fade In, Fade Out”
Episode 7.14, “Jobbed”
Episode 7.20, “With This Ring”
BONUS: “90210” Episode 1.18, “Off the Rails”
BONUS: “BH90210” Episode 1.03, “The Photo Shoot”
James Eckhouse (Jim)
Episode 4.06, “Strangers in the Night”
Episode 4.29, “Truth and Consequences”
Episode 5.19, “Little Monsters”
Jennie Garth (Kelly)
Episode 9.21, “I Wanna Reach Right Out and Grab Ya”
Episode 10.24, “Love Is Blind”
Luke Perry (Dylan)
Episode 9.20, “Fortune Cookie”
Episode 10.07, “Laying Pipe”
Brian Austin Green (David)
Episode 10.16, “The Final Proof”
Tori Spelling (Donna)
Episode 10.19, “I Will Be Your Father Figure”
Ian Ziering (Steve)
Episode 10.14, “I’m Using You ‘Cause I Like You”
Dawson’s Creek
Kerr Smith (Jack)
Episode 6.09, “Everything Put Together Falls Apart”
Joshua Jackson (Pacey)
Episode 6.19, “Love Lines”
The O.C.
Tate Donovan (Jimmy)
Episode 3.08, “The Game Plan”
BONUS: “Gossip Girl” Episode 5.04, “Memoirs of an Invisible Dan”
One Tree Hill
Paul Johansson (Dan)
Episode 2.17, “Something I Can Never Have”
Episode 3.07, “Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends”
Episode 3.18, “When It Isn’t Like It Should Be”
Episode 4.06, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”
Episode 4.15, “Prom Night at Hater High”
Episode 5.02, “Racing Like a Pro”
Episode 5.08, “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”
Episode 5.15, “Life Is Short”
Episode 6.04, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Episode 6.19, “Letting Go”
Episode 7.10, “You Are a Runner, and I Am My Father’s Son”
Episode 7.14, “Family Affair”
Episode 9.03, “Love the Way You Lie”
James Lafferty (Nathan)
Episode 6.22, “Show Me How To Live”
Episode 7.07, “I And Love And You”
Episode 8.05, “Nobody Taught Us to Quit”
Episode 9.06, “Catastrophe and the Cure”
Sophia Bush (Brooke)
Episode 7.06, “Now You Lift Your Eyes to the Sun”
Episode 9.12, “Anyone Who Had a Heart”
Bethany Joy Lenz (Haley)
Episode 6.16, “Screenwriter’s Blues”
Episode 7.17, “At the Bottom of Everything”
Episode 8.09, “Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace”
Moira Kelly (Karen)
Episode 3.19, “I Slept with Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me”
Episode 4.12, “Resolve”
Austin Nichols (Julian)
Episode 8.18, “Quiet Little Voices”
Episode 9.07, “Last Known Surroundings”
Chad Michael Murray (Lucas)
Episode 6.14, “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene”
90210
Rob Estes
Episode 1.20, “Between a Sign and a Hard Place”
The cast missing above? That of the original “Gossip Girl.” Aside from Donovan of “The O.C.” helming two “Gossip Girl” episodes, no main teen drama stars directed the series. I’d venture it’s unlikely any of the main cast on the new “Gossip Girl” will step behind the camera for the spinoff, either, but you never know. Typically, the longer a show lasts, the higher the likelihood of it being directed by one of its stars, and the spinoff is only just embarking on season 2.
On a personal note, Priestley and Spelling directed some of my favorite “Beverly Hills, 90210” hours and Lafferty did one of my favorite “One Tree Hill” installments — frankly, “I And Love And You” is the only episode I love post-season 6. What about you? Were any of your favorite teen drama episodes directed by the stars of the shows?