‘90s Star Returns to the Spotlight at 55 — Fans React to His New Look
This ’90s Heartthrob’s Face Was Smashed Almost Beyond Recognition — What He Looks Like Now at 55 with Gray Hair and Wrinkles
In the 1970s, when he was a young actor, his classmates teased him about participating in commercials. He endured this from them.
He left his family and moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old, where he shared a tiny flat with two other aspiring actors.
His rise to prominence resulted in him becoming a well-known figure, but in modern times, he is almost unrecognizable and is largely missing from the Hollywood scene.
He has gray hair, wrinkles, and a transformed countenance, all of which have the effect of drawing direct remarks from followers online. At the age of 55, he appears to be a significant departure from the image that once defined him.
His presence today comes after he was involved in a high-speed collision, sustained serious facial damage, and moved away from public life. He was once among the most well-known television stars in the world.
From Vancouver to the heart of the television industry for teenagers
He began his acting career at the age of five, appearing in local productions and commercials despite having been born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on August 28, 1969. When he first entered the industry, he encountered a number of obstacles.
After some time had passed, he stated that being a child actor in Canada meant that “I got beat up more than normal kids.”
His transfer to Los Angeles, where he shared a flat with actor Bernie Coulson, occurred when he was 17 years old. When they were auditioning for roles, another young actor named Brad Pitt would occasionally crash on their couch.
The role that would come to define his early career was the clean-cut protagonist in a new network drama that was set in Beverly Hills.
His breakthrough came in the year 1990 when he was cast in the role himself. His work on the series, which lasted for ten years and earned him two nominations for the Golden Globe, became a phenomenon in primetime television.
He began his career as a director and producer while he was working on the show, and he has since gained credits for directing and producing documentaries, music videos, and television plays. However, by the time that decade came to a close, public attention would be drawn to his name for a very different purpose.
A mugshot, a broken arm, and a wrecked car are all present.
Over the course of the early hours of December 3, 1999, he was driving in Hollywood when his vehicle veered into garbage cans, collided with a power pole, collided with another set of trash cans, and eventually collided with a vehicle that was parked on Canyon Drive.
It was approximately 12:30 in the morning, and he was driving with a passenger in the car. Chad Cook, who was 27 years old at the time, had a broken right arm and was sent to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The officers that responded to the incident documented obvious evidence of intoxication. It is a criminal to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs and cause injury, and he was arrested on suspicion of doing both.
Afterwards, he was freed from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division after posting a bond of fifty thousand dollars.
A representative from the company acknowledged that the results of the blood-alcohol test were still waiting at the time.
Subsequently, he would enter a plea of no contest to a charge of misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol and end up completing it.
His Porsche was completely destroyed as a result of the incident, which also marked the beginning of a series of high-impact collisions that would occur over the course of the years, none of which would be more catastrophic than the one that would occur just three years later.
The Consequences of a Crash at 180 Miles Per Hour
Over the course of a practice session for the Infiniti Pro Series that took place at Kentucky Speedway on August 11, 2002, his race car collided head-on with a concrete wall at a speed of over 180 miles per hour.
During that particular season, he had been competing in the series as a professional driver, having gained years of expertise in the racing industry.
The year 1991 marked the beginning of his career in the world of motorsports, when he won his first race in the California Rally Series.
After achieving victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time in 1998, he went on to become a TV analyst for the Indy Racing League the following year.
Through his participation in the new Infiniti Pro Series, which was a developmental league consisting of lighter and less powerful versions of the main IRL cars, he had joined Kelley Racing in the year 2002.
The accident occurred during the final practice run before the Kentucky 100, which he had qualified for the day before holding the second spot in the qualifying standings.
At the moment that he was leaving the second bend of the course, the accident took place. Despite warnings for cars to avoid that location, witnesses stated that he drove across a patch of “oil-dry,” which is a granular material that is meant to absorb fluid from a prior event. Several serious injuries were sustained by him as a result of the impact.
Additionally, he had a closed head injury, broken bones in both feet, and a spinal fracture in the middle of his back. He also suffered a fracture in his head.
At the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington, he was transported by helicopter to receive medical treatment.
In spite of the fact that he was able to breathe on his own and respond to commands, the medical staff at the hospital decided to put him on a respirator for the purpose of sedation.
The medical team established that he was awake, that his vital signs were steady, and that there were no indications of paralysis.
He had been engaged in previous incidents in the past, such as a rally collision in Olympia, Washington, in 1995, and a powerboat crash in Miami, Florida, in 2002, but none of them were as severe as this one, and as a result, he is now facing an unclear future.
Putting Together a Face That Is Broken
After the accident, he gave an interview in which he described waking up in the hospital with no idea what had happened.
what was going on with his physical body. During an interview with Barbara Walters in the beginning of 2003, he stated that the injuries were so severe that his face had been battered to the point that it was practically unrecognizable.
As he recalled thoughts of Christopher Reeve and Sam Schmidt, his racing colleague, both of whom had suffered from paralysis, he too feared that he would not be able to walk again. “I was really, really terrified that that was gonna be me,” he replied in response.
Later, in an interview with Piers Morgan, he went into detail about the severity of the face wounds he had sustained.
At the same time that I broke my back and destroyed both of my feet, I also caused a significant amount of damage to my face. I shattered my orbital bone, my cheekbone, and my ocular mantle, and I ripped my nose off of my face. I also broke my cheekbone.
He stated that they had to remove my eyeball and reconstruct a portion of my skull in order to treat the condition.
The process of recovery was lengthy and challenging, and it took a considerable amount of time before the side of his face that had been wounded regained its full function.
Because of the accident, his career as a professional race car driver came to a stop.
It was determined by him that the two years that followed the accident were the most difficult of his entire life.
The only focus of their efforts was on his physical rehabilitation and getting back on his feet, both in terms of his work and personal life.
Previously Unseen Work in the Hollywood Industry
Following his rehabilitation, he gradually made his way back into the entertainment industry over the course of the years that followed.
As of the year 2013, he was actively promoting his role in the Canadian television series “Call Me Fitz,” which he not only produced but also occasionally directed.
He noted that the series did not garner much notice, despite the fact that it was broadcast on DirecTV in the United States.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he stated, “I still have this incredibly active and very successful career that is virtually unseen in Hollywood.
” He made it abundantly obvious that he did not wish to rely on his previous fame in order to maintain his relevance, and he took the position that doing so would be “pathetic.”
Rather than that, he concentrated on developing his abilities and accumulating a body of work that included appearances in films, stage plays, and television programs.
His career as an actor had begun when he was still a little child, but it wasn’t until he was a young adult that it got particularly intense.
“When you’re young like that, you feel like a hamster on a wheel,” he stated regarding his beginnings in the industry. He was referring to his early years.
You are doing nothing more than turning the wheel and maintaining your universe. After a while, it is incredibly simple to start believing what other people are saying about you because you have a lot of people telling you how wonderful you are.
His work path and priorities had evolved once again by the time he reached his 50s, this time toward a life that was less hectic and more focused on his family, and he had moved away from the Hollywood scene that had characterized his youth throughout his entire life.
Distancing Oneself from Los Angeles
When the year 2024 rolled around, Jason Priestley had discretely left the city that had been the foundation of his rise to prominence.
Following a period of more than three decades spent in Los Angeles, the former star of “Beverly Hills, 90210” moved to Nashville with his wife, Naomi Priestley, and their two daughters.
Following the discovery of a school in Tennessee that seemed to be a good fit for their daughter Ava, who was 16 years old at the time, they made the decision to relocate. Moreover, their fourteen-year-old son Dashiell got admitted.
“My wife and I just said to each other, ‘If the kids get into the school, we’re going to Nashville!'” When Priestley recalled it. “And lo and behold, they both got in, so we moved and we love it.”
Later on, Priestley claimed that life in Nashville was simpler to handle and that the city’s seasonal variations helped bring structure to their everyday lives. He also mentioned that the city’s climate was more pleasant.
It had been difficult to keep track of time in Los Angeles due to the continuous weather, but the four seasons in Tennessee provided a more distinct sense of rhythm.
During the spring of that year, Ava went to her junior prom, while Dashiell became active in school plays and voice acting.
Priestley and his wife had been married for close to twenty years when they finally established a new routine for their relationship.
He continued to be involved in other fields, and it was through one of those endeavors that fans were able to get a peek of how much he had changed.
Although he was no longer a regular presence in the entertainment sector, he continued to be engaged in other areas.
As Soon as Fans Saw His Face Once More
In a recent post on Instagram, Priestley made his return to the public eye in order to increase awareness of his wine label, which is called Oak and Priest Wine Company.
The caption made an announcement about the introduction of a new “Friends and Family Wine Club,” which would provide members with discounts on their small-production wines.
Previously, these wines were exclusively available to private collectors and certain restaurants.
However, the launch of the firm was not the only thing that garnered notice. Compared to the image of Priestley when he was younger that many people recalled, his appearance in the photograph was considerably different.
It was obvious that his hair and beard had turned gray, and the wrinkles that come with age were visible on his face.
The emotions of the fans were instantaneous and varied.
Someone else made the following observation: “I will never get used to him looking like that.” The words “May have to start drinking again…” were written by someone.
Some individuals defended his unfiltered appearance, with one comment stating, “Cheers 🍷 and put an end to the ‘he’s aging’ [crap].
Ageing is something that will happen to all of us. It is the most natural item that can be found anywhere in the globe.
It is encouraging to see folks who have not had a variety of surgeries performed on their faces. Our faces are a reflection of the lives we’ve led.
When compared to the image of a heartthrob that Priestley portrayed when he was at the pinnacle of his fame, his current appearance is a striking difference.
However, despite the fact that the boyish appearance that brought him fame has now become less noticeable, his image will continue to be remembered to those who grew up watching him.
