Shannen Doherty says ‘Little House on the Prairie’ star Michael Landon ‘was a mentor’ to her: ‘He taught me so much’

Before being Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210, Shannen Doherty had a brief stint on Little House on the Prairie which she says “helped shape” her decades-long career.

The actress opened up about her time on the show from 1982 to 1983 alongside Little house star Michael Landon, who died in 1991 of pancreatic cancer.

“It’s like that – Little house – shaped me in so many ways and it’s still the best experience of my entire career,” Doherty said in a recent episode of his podcast, Let’s be clear with Shannen Doherty.

She praised Landon, who she said helped fuel her passion for acting and directing early on. “I loved him. He was a mentor. He taught me so much,” she said.

“It’s pretty amazing because when I think about how long my career was, but also how difficult some of the jobs were – and not fun to do, a little toxic – it was really the experience on Little house it sparked this passion to be an actor,” she said. “And that was having a mentor like Michael Landon – and I don’t care what other people’s experience is, I know the truth about this man, and he was just incredible.”

Little house was one of Doherty’s first acting roles. By the time she joined the cast as Jenny Wilder in Season 9, Landon had already left his role as Charles Ingalls, but he remained on the show as an executive producer and made a few appearances in Season 9. He has also written and directed a few films. of episodes during Doherty’s time on the series.

According to Doherty, Landon was “so, so, so talented, so kind, so thoughtful, and that really helped shape me.” And he took incredible care of my entire family.

After starring in season 9, Doherty then reprized his role in three TV movies between 1983 and 1985: Little house: a look back at yesterday, Little house: the last goodbyeAnd Little House: Bless all the dear children.

Doherty earned several acting credits soon after Little houseincluding a regular role in the series Our house in 1986, and memorable performances in Heathers, Girls just want to have funAnd 21 rue du saut among several other titles. It didn’t take long before she landed her iconic role in Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1990.

She already said that Little house was a formative experience for her as a young actress, especially because she worked with Landon. “I worked with Michael Landon — it’s one of my favorite memories of all time,” she said in a previous episode of her podcast.

Landon reportedly discovered Doherty when she made her acting debut in the 1981 series he created, Father Murphy.

“He taught me to accept my voice, to stand up for myself,” she said of the late star.