When actor Luke Perry died from a fatal stroke in 2019, the world was stunned. Starring on the CW Network's "Riverdale" at the time of his death, Perry was only 52.
Most beloved for his role as Dylan McKay in the 1990s drama "Beverly Hills, 90210," his loss greatly impacted his co-stars, including actor Brian Austin Green. Next month will be the five-year anniversary of Perry's passing, and Green says when it all happened, he was in denial.
"You know when you have that core of people that are around you, that eventually you're gonna get older and you're gonna start losing people. That's just a part of life. But nobody ever expected that we would lose someone so early. And I honestly never expected that it would be Luke. To me in my mind, Luke was the strongest of everyone," he said in an upcoming episode of "Getting Grilled with Curtis Stone."
Brian Austin Green, left, says that when his friend Luke Perry died, he did not want to believe the news. (Getty Images)
"He was the constant guy," Green added of Perry. "He ate really well, he was healthy, he was fit."
"At the point when I heard the news that he was in the hospital, and that he'd had a stroke, I had just … come out of neurological stuff myself, so there was a part of me that was like, I’m kind of prepared. I can help him through this. I can go to the hospital and he'll be OK. Even if it takes a couple years, he'll be alright," the 50-year-old insisted.
Green's own neurological condition had left him with "stroke-like symptoms." His recovery took nearly four and a half years, which he said was mostly private.
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Brian Austin Green had just dealt with health issues of his own when Luke Perry was hospitalized for a stroke. (Getty Images)
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"And then to hear that he had passed was … I didn't completely believe it. There was a part of me that couldn’t really process that that was real," he acknowledged. "I text[ed] him the day after he passed. Just because there was a part of me that was like, ‘No, he’s gonna answer back. He’s hiding somewhere. Or something’s happened.’"
"I didn't completely believe that, but there was a big part of me that was hoping that that was the case," Green admitted.
Brian Austin Green, left, and Luke Perry starred on "Beverly Hills 90210" together. (Mikel Roberts/Sygma via Getty Images)
Two months ago, Green spoke in depth about his grief, sharing why he thought Perry's injury resulting in death might have been the better outcome for his friend.
"There was a part of me with him, with the loss of him, where I felt like maybe that was the best thing to happen for him. 'Cause Luke was very – Luke took pride in who he was. He was very quick-witted. He was very kind. He was very generous. And … to not have any of those, any of those things missing at all would have so severely affected him," he said on the "Comfort Food with Kelly Rizzo" podcast. "I think for recovery possibly taking four years. Or near there. It would have been really, really difficult for him."
"To me, he either had to be 100% or not. There was no middle ground," Green added of his former cast mate.
Luke Perry passed away in 2019 after suffering from two strokes. (Ron Davis/Getty Images)
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"I am so grateful that I had the time with him that I had. And I had the life with him that I had. And I had the true knowing and loving with him that I had. On both sides. I am so incredibly lucky that he loved me the way that he did," he said of their close friendship.
"Honestly, in grieving, you're looking for those silver lining things," Green told Rizzo, who lost her husband Bob Saget unexpectedly from a head injury. "It's one of the things I think that makes it so individual."
"It's like you have to find the things that bring comfort to you in getting through a horrible situation," he said of grieving Perry. "If that thinking helps you through the process at all, then that's what you think. And some people may be like, ‘Oh, but that’s such a morbid view' and ‘It would have been better to have him in any state.’
"And it's like, 'OK, then you feel that. That's fine. You do you.'"
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