‘Fantasy Island’ Finale: Jason Priestley on How His Guest Role Channels the OG Series

Damian Holbrook May 8, 2023, 9:00 am

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Jason Priestley became a TV heartthrob on Beverly Hills, 90210, and now he’s back on Fox as a total heartbreaker!

The Canadian actor-director-producer guest stars on Fantasy Island as Gavin Beck, a faithless doctor whose current wife (Amanda Tavarez) and two exes (Gillian Vigman, Camille Guaty) beg island steward Elena Roarke (Roselyn Sánchez) to grant their wish: that this lothario feel the pain he’s caused them!

Here, Priestly breaks down his appearance in the Monday, May 8 Season 2 finale of Fantasy Island, fittingly titled “MJ Akuda & the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Wives Club.”

90210 never sent you to Puerto Rico! How was shooting in paradise?

Jason Priestly: Really fun. It is a beautiful island with lots of historical sites—not to mention beautiful beaches!

Beck sounds like a piece of work. How bad do the ladies stick it to him?

Dr. Beck wasn’t the nicest character I’ve played. But he isn’t the worst either. I actually loved this storyline. The idea that his ex-wives and his current wife all get together to teach a perennial cheater a lesson? Fantastic! And it really felt like a throwback to the original series, which I was a huge fan of…yes, I’m that old! [Laughs]

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We’re assuming this allows you to do some comedy?

I’ve done a lot of comedy in my career, but American audiences haven’t seen much of it. In my native Canada, I starred in Call Me Fitz, which won awards all around the world.

You guest starred on Roselyn’s show Without a Trace back in 2006. Did she remember?

[Laughs] So funny you brought that up! We never talked about that. At all. But we never worked together on those episodes. All of my work was with Anthony LaPaglia and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.

Fantasy Island, Season 2 Finale, Monday, May 8, 8/7c, Fox

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s May 8-21 double issue. For more inside scoop on what’s coming to TV and streaming in the weeks ahead, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.