Shannen Doherty has revealed that she owes her acting career to Michael Landon, her Little House on the Prairie co-star.
The actress praised the late actor whilst reflecting on her career with her mother on an episode of her podcast, Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty.
Together, they reminisced on her earliest work in commercials and the iconic American period drama series.
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“That show – Little House – shaped me in so many ways, and it still is the best experience of my entire career,” Doherty, 53, confessed as she explained the tight bond she shared with Landon, who played the show’s patriarch.
“I adored him. He was a mentor. He taught me so much,” she said of Landon, who died in 1991 from pancreatic cancer.
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Doherty is also battling cancer, saying she still feels influenced by Landon in her life today.
“It’s kind of amazing because, when I think about the long span of my career, but also how rough some jobs were – and unenjoyable to be a part of, a little bit toxic – it was really the experience on Little House that spurred that passion on for being an actor,” she said.
“And it was having a mentor like Michael Landon – and I don’t care what anybody else’s experience was like. I know the truth about that man, and he was just unbelievable.”
Doherty shared some insight into who Landon was: “So, so, so talented, so kind, so considerate, and it really helped shape me. And he was incredibly caring for my entire family.”
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Following her big break on Little House on the Prairie, Doherty starred in many TV shows and movies, most prominently in Charmed, Heathers, Beverly Hills 90210 and Our House.
Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert also praised Landon’s influence on her life, telling People that he was like a father figure.
“Michael Landon was like a father figure to many of us, obviously, and a very, very important influence in my life,” Gilbert said.
“My own father passed away when I was 11,” she continues. “And I had been working with Michael for two years at that point, and he really sort of stepped in and kind of watched over me in a much more paternal way.”
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