How Brad Pitt Shaped Shannen Doherty’s Role in the 90210 Reboot

The late Shannen Doherty admitted on the recent edition of the Charmed rewatch podcast, The House of Halliwell, that she was "always scared to use props" during her time on the show. Doherty, who passed away on July 13 at 53 after a battle with breast cancer, revealed in a posthumous prerecorded episode that Brad Pitt's films inspired a change in her approach to acting.

Doherty explained that the script supervisors on Charmed had instructed her to closely mimic actions for consistency across different camera angles, which made her very self-conscious. This attention to detail continued until she worked on the BH90210 reboot, which aired for six episodes in 2019.

It was during this reboot that Doherty decided to embrace a more relaxed style. Inspired by Brad Pitt's characters, especially Rusty from the Ocean's 11 series, who are known for eating on screen, Doherty chose to eat in every scene as a way to free herself from her previous constraints.

In a podcast episode released shortly after her death, Doherty also spoke about Alyssa Milano's addition to Charmed. Despite past disagreements, Doherty praised Milano for bringing a necessary lightness and a fresh perspective to the show. Following Doherty’s passing, Milano and other former co-stars paid heartfelt tributes to her memory.