Luke Perry 'Didn't Love' Being Compared to James Dean, Claims Author: 'He Wanted to Be His Own Man'

When Luke Perry rose to fame via Beverly Hills, 90210, fans instantly likened him to Hollywood icon James Dean — and though that may be a compliment, the late Riverdale alum also strived to make a name for himself on his own merit.

Margaret Wappler detailed Perry's feelings over the situation in her new book, A Good Bad Boy: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew.

"He didn't love it," the author revealed in an interview of the Dean comparisons. "When he was talking to Maria Shriver, he basically said like, 'I'm not him. I'm not him, and he checked out early and I don't want to check out early. I want to go on to work the rest of my life. And have a long storied career.'"

Wappler said the late star — who died at age 52 in 2019 from a stroke — was "almost a little bit spooked by the comparison, like it was kind of cursing him or something."

"I think, too, he wanted to be his own man. He wanted to be his own person," she said, noting he tried to sometimes embrace it for the sake of his breakout role.

"I think it helped launch the show, but I think he felt a little strapped in by it," she spilled of Perry portraying handsome bad boy Dylan McKay. "At the same time, he was no fool. He knew when to kind of lean into it a little bit."

Wappler pointed to one early episode of the series when they filmed at the Griffith Observatory, the same spot where Dean shot a knife fight scene for Rebel Without a Cause. The writer said they wouldn't have chosen that location if they weren't "tipping the cap" to the legendary movie star.

"So I think [Perry] understood when and how to acknowledge it, but not let it define him," she reasoned.

Wappler shared "he had fun" with his fame "for a while," but he was also "freaked out by it" since mall signings turned into stampedes of fans.

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She also believed Perry was "relieved" when the teen drama moved into the post-high school years and out of the heartthrob phase.

"It did, I think, box him in, it did limit him as an actor," she confessed. "It took him some time and some moves to get away from that."

Wappler pointed to his 2001 role in Oz, which helped him tell fans, "I'm not a teenaged idol. I'm not James Dean light. I'm my own man."

Fox News spoke to Wappler.