{alltv} Priestley gets sleazy in new TV role

Numerically speaking, there probably are 90,210 reasons that Jason Priestley loves playing characters with questionable morals.

But with his portrayal of Richard (Fitz) Fitzpatrick in the new Canadian series Call Me Fitz, Priestley finally may be as far away from Brandon Walsh of Beverly Hills 90210 as is humanly possible.

"I was trying to break out of that (nice-guy) mold when I was still in it," said Priestley, 41. "I'd do these crazy movies during my hiatus. "It's important to forcibly do other things. As an artist, you have to be willing to put yourself in situations that maybe aren't that comfortable, because that's how you get better.

"And characters who have questionable morality seem to provide more opportunities for those types of situations."

Just to be clear, Call Me Fitz - which was filmed in Nova Scotia and debuts Sunday, Sept. 19 on HBO Canada - is a comedy. A dark comedy, but a comedy nonetheless.

Priestley plays the title character, who has the perfect combination of sleaze and charm that makes him a hot-shot used-car salesman. He stoops to anything to keep ahead of the competition, right up to the point where a serious accident seemingly unleashes something within him.

Enter Larry, played by Ernie Grunwald. Larry purports to be the human materialization of Fitz's conscience, the last pure area of Fitz's dangerously compromised soul.

Nothing against Grunwald, but geez Jason, why would the human materialization of your character's conscience be so damned dorky?

"Because it's funny," Priestly said with a big laugh. "It's kind of genius, I think.

"The show works on so many levels, and that's one of the levels. The fact that he's, like, 6-foot-7, it's hysterical."

Priestley, born and raised in British Columbia, has been well-known to Canadian audiences ever since he first appeared on the small screen as Brandon Walsh in 1990. Subsequently, Priestley has become an accomplished director and producer, yet he has been picky about acting roles.

Nonetheless, Priestley said it was back to basics when it came to landing the role of Fitz.

"I had to get this job the old-fashioned way," Priestley said. "I had to go and audition for it and convince everybody I was the guy to play Fitz. Thankfully it worked out.

"I immediately was taken with the world Sherri (Elwood, executive producer and show-runner) had created. I really understood everything she was trying to get across. And then the character of Fitz, I knew if I had the opportunity to play him, he would be a treasure trove of great opportunities."

Indeed, Fitz is quite the cad.

"The challenge is to keep him always likeable and relatable for the audience," Priestley said. "It's a fine line to walk along.

"The thing that makes Fitzie's nefarious deeds more palatable is the fact that everything he does is based on a weakness or a problem in his psyche. When you meet his family and you understand what happened with him when he was a kid, you start to understand why he is the way he is.

"As long as I keep that specificity there, I think the audience will go along with it."

In a vague thematic sense, Fitz shares something with the Jimmy Stewart character in the classic Christmas film It's A Wonderful Life, at least in terms of spiritual intervention on the path to a better attitude.

"That's not bad at all," Priestley said. "I'll take that comparison."