Actor who captured a nation’s heart

LUKE Perry’s portrayal of rebellious heartthrob Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210 captured a nation of hearts in both his native America and across the Atlantic.

So ubiquitous was his performance in the ’90s teen drama that at times the public found it difficult to separate him from his character.

Often compared to James Dean, Perry, who has died aged 52 after suffering a stroke, found himself typecast in the years following his departure from that show.

He was born Coy Luther Perry III on October 11 1966 in Mansfield, Ohio, to a steelworker father and housewife mother.

Perry’s relationship with his father remained strained until his death in 1980 following a heart attack.

Indeed, it was his stepfather, a construction worker, who he looked to as a role model.

In an interview with People magazine, Perry, pictured, described him as “the one who taught me the important things I needed to know about being a man”.

After finishing school and realising there was little chance of him breaking into the film industry from Ohio, he spent time in both Los Angeles and New York.

It took until 1990 for his breakthrough role, and in the intervening years he worked as a paver, living in cities including Huntington Beach and Long Beach.

In an interview with American television host Whoopi Goldberg, Perry said he auditioned for 215 acting jobs in New York before finally securing a single TV commercial.

He scored a part in the video for the Alice Cooper-featuring song Be Chrool To Your Scuel by heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Later he appeared in daytime soaps such as ABC’s Loving.

But at the cusp of the 90s he was cast in Aaron Spelling’s Fox TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 and his career accelerated.

Playing the brooding son of a millionaire, Perry became a household name.

He had originally auditioned for the role of jock Steve Sanders but was thought more suited to the morally ambiguous and often conflicted McKay.

Alongside Justin Timberlake, Perry’s image was found plastered across the bedroom walls of teenage girls in the US and UK.

Beverly Hills, 90210 set a template for teen drama that would be reused and repurposed by programmes including The OC and later Gossip Girl.