Jason Priestley

28/8/1969

Record updated 28-Aug-07

Priestley, best known as Brandon Walsh in the television series Beverly Hills 90210, has competed in the SCCA Pro Rally Series, the Indy Pro Series, GTS, SCCA Trans-am racing, the Motorola Cup, the Pro/Celebrity Race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and numerous other events.

Born Jason Bradford Priestley in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, he is best known as Brandon Walsh in the television series Beverly Hills 90210.

He started competing in the California Rally Series in 1991. From 1992-1994 he took part in the California Rally Series and the SCCA Pro Rally Series and in 1995 he raced Ford Escort-Cosworth in a FIA World Rally Championship round in Perth, Australia.

In 1996 he entered sports car racing driving a 1995 Ford Mustang Cobra R. He finished sixth in point standings in the GTS1 class of the Exxon Supreme GT Series in 1997.

In 1998 he competed for Multimatic Racing in the Motorola Cup North American Street Stock Championship, he earned his first career victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, finished tenth in final standings.

He also raced in the Speedvision Cup for Stock Sports Cars, the IMSA Firehawk Series and Magna Enduro Series.

In 1999 he was arrested for felony drunk driving after he crashed his silver Porshe into a power pole, a parked car and some trash cans in the Hollywood Hills. Priestley claimed that he had swerved to avoid hitting a deer but police and local prosecutors were unconvinced.

However his passenger and best friend, Chad Cook, refused to testify against Priestley and the district attorney accepted a plea to a lesser offence. He was sentenced to five days in a work-release program, had his license suspended for a year and was ordered into rehab.

In 2002 he participated in the first Gumball 3000 Rally and competed in the Indy Racing League's Infiniti Pro Series driving for Kelley Racing. He finished second behind A.J. Foyt IV in his first race at the Kansas Speedway in July of that year. He qualified fourth for the next round at the Nashville Superspeedway and finished sixth and after another good qualifying performance at the Michigan International Speedway he dropped back to finish a dissapointing 13th. Then he was seriously injured during practice at the Kentucky Speedway, fracturing his spine and both feet as well as sustaining a head injury when he crashed into a wall at nearly 180 miles per hour. He make a full recovery, nursed back to health by his girlfriend Naomi Lowde, whom he married in May 2005, on Paradise Island, in the Bahamas.

Priestley has also competed in SCCA Trans-am racing, the Motorola Cup, the Pro/Celebrity Race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and in numerous other events.

Priestley has starred in more than 30 television series and feature films since his 1986 cinema debut and has made guest appearances on numerous other TV shows, including "Gross Pointe" and "Spin City." Priestley directed 22 episodes of "90210" from 1993-1997 and produced the series in 1996 and 1997. He was named the show's executive producer in 1997. He has served in a similar capacity for several other movies and TV series, including directing the acclaimed documentary "Bare Naked in America" about the band Bare Naked Ladies, who attribute much of their success in America to him.

Priestley joined the cast of Tru Calling as Jack Harper from 2004-2005. He was also a regular on the 2006 program Love Monkey. His television work also includes the 1989 series Sister Kate, the WB show What I Like About You, 1997's Love and Death on Long Island, in which he played a teen idol, and a February 2006 appearance on Without a Trace.

He become an American citizen in June 2007 and in July he returned to series television as one of the lead males in Lifetime Television's new dramedy Side Order of Life. He also directed the Lifetime television movie entitled Don't Cry Now.



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