Key Points
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Elisa Donovan is looking back at her first day on the Beverly Hills, 90210set.
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The Cluelessand Sabrina the Teenage Witchstar played the flirtatious Ginger LaMonica on season 6 of the primetime teen soap.
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“The first day I was there, I had to be in bed with Jason Priestley,” Donovan recalled. “I was just like, ‘How is this going to go?'”
Elisa Donovan had a memorable first day on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210.
Donovan, who got her start on the cult series Blossomand broke out as the preppy, quasi-antagonist Amber in Clueless, arrived late on the 90210game. She appeared as Ginger LaMonica on season 6 of the primetime teen soap. And anyone who remembers the latter years of 90210will likely recall her scandalous entrance — showing up unannounced in the bed of the character played by Jason Priestley
On Monday’s episode of the Still Here Hollywood With Steve Kmetkopodcast, Donovan revealed that the first scene she appeared in was also the first she shot for the series. Meaning she showed up on set and was told to hop in bed in front of a full production crew — without rehearsal.
Donovan noted that 90210was “the first hour-long show that I did,” meaning it was a vastly different experience than the multi-camera sitcom Blossom. “I didn’t know what was going on,” she explained. “I felt like, ‘Well, we’re going to go and rehearse. And I remember Jason comes in. The first day I was there, I had to be in bed with Jason Priestley. I was just like, ‘How is this going to go?'”
Fortunately, Donovan found the former teen heartthrob to be the “loveliest person ever. He came in and said, ‘It’s going to be weird, but it’s going to be fine. We do this stuff all the time. Don’t worry, you’re going to be okay.'”
But that doesn’t mean it was easy. On set, “everybody’s chatting, talking, morning coffee,” and Donovan asked, “When are we going to rehearse?” She didn’t get a straight answer. Then suddenly, “They come and get me, and they’re like, ‘Okay, we’re ready for you. We’re going to shoot now.’ It’s like, ‘Are we not rehearsing?’ And they said, ‘You just did.'”
Evidently, the quick blocking rehearsal they ran through — or, the practice session simply to chart out where actors move to be captured effectively by the camera — was the extent of the scene’s warm-up. “It was such a well-oiled machine, we didn’t even say the words. So I went, ‘Oh, this is an education right now. I gotta get it together. This is a whole new way of doing things.'”
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Everything ultimately went fine. Though she only appeared in four episodes, Donovan’s Ginger stands out as one of the most memorable and beloved of 90210‘s guest stars. And that says a lot, given the show also cast actors like Matthew Perry, Jessica Alba, and Lucy Liu in similar roles.
You can watch Donovan’s full appearance on the Still Here Hollywoodpodcast above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
