Tori Spelling Recalls Difficult Film Set Experience

Actress Tori Spelling has revealed what she describes as her most difficult on-set experience, detailing a fraught working relationship with a director during the production of a 2003 science fiction comedy film.

The 53-year-old actress appeared on Stephen Baldwin's "One Bad Movie" podcast on August 9, where she discussed her uncredited role in Evil Alien Conquerors, a film featuring comedians Chris Parnell and Diedrich Bader in a story about extraterrestrial invaders attempting to destroy Earth.

"From the moment I stepped on set, it was like I couldn't say one word without the director being like, 'Uh, Tori, can you do that again?'" Spelling told Us Weekly.

The film was written and directed by Chris Matheson, 67, whose previous credits include the 1989 comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and the 2020 franchise installment Bill & Ted Face the Music.

Spelling initially viewed the project as an opportunity to distance herself from being known primarily as the daughter of legendary television producer Aaron Spelling. The role required her to wear a "big furry unibrow and furry feet," and she received a direct offer for the part without needing to audition.

The actress, who portrayed Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 2000, hoped the comedic role would represent a departure from her dramatic work. However, she encountered immediate difficulties with Matheson, who allegedly requested numerous retakes of her scenes far more frequently than he did with other cast members.

According to Spelling, the director repeatedly asked her to deliver her lines with "just a little bit less" energy, which she found perplexing given the film's comedic nature.

"Now, although I was in a drama for 10 seasons and did other work, my comedy was on point, like I was a comedian and am a comedian," she told Us Weekly. "And so, in drama sometimes I was like, 'Okay, if I get that note, I understand that,' but comedy? No one ever gave me a note. It was always like, 'Oh my God, that's great, go for it.'"

The situation deteriorated to the point where Spelling felt singled out during filming. She described a pattern where Matheson would call for retakes specifically targeting her performance, regardless of whether she was in a scene with one other actor or twenty.

"It could be a scene with me and one other actor or a scene with like 20 of us... By the end I knew he'd go through the first take, and then he'd be like 'Cut!' And I'm like, 'Wait for it,' and he'd be like, 'Tori...'" she told Us Weekly. "Every time! He would say it out loud across all the other actors and everyone in the room and I'd be shuddering."

The tension became so severe that Spelling's agent requested she receive no credit for her appearance in the film. Spelling completed the production believing Matheson harbored personal animosity toward her.

"I was like, 'Just fire me and recast. This is so hard on me.' I went to set every day just like a puddle of ... I don't know," she told Us Weekly. "I watched it. I'm fine in it, but I'm like, 'Oh, I wish I had done more with it.' It was a comedy. It was just like a goofy comedy. He just didn't like me. And I'm like, 'That's okay.'"

When contacted by People magazine, Matheson offered a different perspective on the collaboration.

"I'm sorry she felt that way. I like Tori personally. I just think we have some different ideas about comedy," Matheson told People.

Evil Alien Conquerors bypassed theatrical release in the United States and was released directly to DVD. Spelling is one of two children of late television producer Aaron Spelling and wife Candy Spelling, along with brother Randy Spelling.