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‘90210′ Star Reveals Castmate’s Hysterical Reaction to Being Fired
May 1, 2026
Posted 3 hours ago by
DAVID SWANSON / REUTERSTori Spelling, 52, is revisiting a brutal behind-the-scenes moment from Beverly Hills, 90210—when a young Hilary Swank, 51, was abruptly fired. Speaking Friday on the 90210MG podcast, Spelling said she had become a “safe place” for Swank on set, who often confided in her between scenes. Swank played Carly Reynolds for 16 episodes during Season 8 of the show when ratings started to plummet following Luke Perry’s departure.
Producer Paul Waigner, 56, called Swank into his office one day. When she returned, Spelling said, the actress was “hysterically crying” and retreated to her dressing room to process the news. “She was like, ‘Oh my God—if I get fired off of 90210, I’m never gonna make it,’” Spelling recalled. Two months after she was fired, Swank landed her breakout role as Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry, earning her first Academy Award in 2000 and launching a career that would later include a second Oscar in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. Swank looked back at the pivotal career moment in an interview with Conan O’Brien in 2014. Framing the setback as a turning point and a “silver lining,” she said that when one thing falls apart, “something else could be looming around the corner.”Read it at The Daily MailRead more at The Daily Beast.
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