Even if she really became a movie star with Amy Heckerling’s Vis Comedy in 1995, “Cluless”, if you were a youngster in the 1990s, there is no way you did not know Alicia Silverstone of these musical videos of Torrides and Rebels – “Incredible”, “Cryin” and “Crazy” – first. You had to: she was beautiful, cute and mysterious, and had a lot of opportunities to choose even before “Clueless” became a success. She was really the queen of the 90s for some time, and even I know that, as a guy who did not necessarily know the universe of Silverstone well (I remember her like Batgirl in “Batman & Robin”, because you cannot erase this film with your mind, for better or for worse).
But even before the Lycée Cher Horowitz was the big screen next to Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd and Stacy Dash, Silverstone had already appeared in some films like “The Crush” (trying to seduce Cary Elwes), “New World” (acting alongside James Gandolfini), and “Hideaway” Horror Jeff.
Television was small in the 1990s and Silverstone had greater ambitions
To date, I am fascinated by the evolution of television and how he has caught up the cinema over the years, often matching or even exceeding the quality of the films made these days. Do you have a long, epic and sprawling story with many layers, themes and sub -intry to tell? Make a television show. But in the early 90s – despite cultural touch stones like “Northern Exposure”, “Friends” or “The X Files” – television was always considered a short time. And most of the aspiring actors were trying to get into the cinema instead of being satisfied with the small screen.
The star of Silverstone had just started to shine at the time, and she would have been a fool to lock herself in a long -standing television series (and frankly, very soapy) instead of hunting bigger big screen dreams. According to an interview from 1995 with EW, the actress was offered a role in “Beverly Hills, 90210”, but she wisely refused. She said:
“Like, the way Shannen Doherty[theonedesprinchipalestarsde”Beverlyhills90210″isofwhichareinthepastisthecasewiththemoreandthemoresoftheallareinthesubject?JemourraissicitwasneverthelessayacuneraiswhicharealotofthetimewhichyouwillbeabletomakeaFilmocwtwithwhichunancommealpacino”[ONEOFTHEMAINTARSIN’BeverlyHills90210″‘Gotfamousshe’sfamousBecaUSEFALLTHEBADTHINGSPEOPLEREADABOUTHTHTRIGHT?IWOULDdieifthatwasmere’sNoreasonToGetLockediToTeLovisionshowWhenyoumightbeabletodoamoVoVoWithSomeBodyLikealPacino”[l’unedesprincipalesstarsde”BeverlyHills90210″‘estdevenuecélèbreElleestcélèbreàcausedetouteslesmauvaiseschosesquelesgenslisentàsonsujetnon?Jemourraissic’étaitmoiIln’yaaucuneraisondeseverrouillerdansuneémissiondetélévisionalorsquevouspourrezfaireunfilmavecquelqu’uncommeAlPacino”[oneofthemainstarsin’BeverlyHills90210″‘gotfamousShe’sfamousbecauseofallthebadthingspeoplereadaboutherright?IwoulddieifthatwasmeThere’snoreasontogetlockedintoatelevisionshowwhenyoumightbeabletodoamoviewithsomebodylikeAlPacino”
It was not a bad way to approach a career, and Silverstone played in many films after “Clueless”, even if they were not all huge successes and did not necessarily become classics that deserve to be recalled. She took her shot and tried to do her best. Maybe it didn’t work perfectly, but it’s always better than living with regrets.
