Spelling described Posey as her “mentor” while she was getting her big-screen sea legs on the off-kilter comedy “House of Yes” in 1997.

Tori Spelling reveals how Parker Posey saved her from bombing in first film after 90210 fame: ‘I’m not worthy!’

Spelling described Posey as her "mentor" while she was getting her big-screen sea legs on the off-kilter comedy "House of Yes" in 1997.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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March 5, 2026 7:18 p.m. ET

Tori Spelling and Parker Posey. Credit:

JC Olivera/Billboard via Getty; Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Tori Spelling is looking back on Parker Posey's outsize influence on her early days as a film actress.

Spelling had already reached the full height of her small-screen fame playing Donna Martin on *Beverly Hills, 90210*, which kicked off in 1990. In 1997, she was cast in a supporting part in the dark comedy *The House of Yes*, starring Posey as an unhinged young woman convinced that she's former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Despite "a lot of rehearsals and read-throughs," Spelling remained "so nervous," she detailed on Wednesday's episode of her *MisSpelling* podcast. But "Parker Posey was my mentor through that, because she was just, first of all, so incredible. And she was like, 'Do you know how funny you are?' And I didn't."

Parker Posey in 'The House of Yes'.

"She had to literally untrain my brain and almost hold my hand through it, because I came into that table read being like, 'Oh, my God, look at all these real actors," Spelling continued. "This is a feature film, and here I am, Aaron Spelling's daughter, [on] *90210*, you know... I'm not worthy!"

Spelling's father was one of the most influential TV producers of the second half of the 20th century, behind hits from *Charlie's Angels *to *Dynasty* to *90210*. During "that first read-through," Spelling said she "acted fine," but "in my being, I was plummeting."

"I'll never forget, and I can see it right now: Afterward, Parker took my hand... and she got in my face and, in a good way, was like, 'Do you know how funny you are?'" Spelling recalled. "She's like, 'You're funny, keep going. Do it.'"

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Those words of encouragement made a lasting impact on Spelling: "People are like, 'Who's the person in your career that really made a difference?' It was Parker Posey, because [she] inspired me to own it."

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*The House of Yes* was directed by Mark Waters, who would go on to helm *Mean Girls *and *Freaky Friday*. Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, and Geneviève Bujold joined Posey and Spelling in the cast.

The film divided both critics and audiences, summed up by the rare distinction of Posey earning a Sundance Award for her performance at the film's premiere, and Spelling earning a Razzie nomination for hers after its release.

Listen to the entire podcast above.

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