9 Things You Didn’t Know About Brian Austin Green
Published on August 21, 2015. Updated May 2, 2017Brian Austin Green is now best known as the on and off significant other of Megan Fox but, most people know him best for the role of David Silver on the original nighttime soap Beverly Hills 90210, and while he has remained somewhat relevant, his popularity has definitely dropped since he enjoyed Beverly Hills fame. As his name gets dragged back into the headlines with his separation from Fox, check out 9 things about Brian you might not be aware of:
9. He’s 43
There’s a big age difference of 13 years between Brian and Megan. He’s 43, squarely in middle-age, while Megan, at 29, is still in her twenties — a decade that these days is generally meant for having fun and figuring things out, not staying with one person and having two children. He was born in 1973, the year Marvin Gaye scored a huge hit with “Let’s Get it On,” while Megan was born in 1986, when Whitney Houston was queen. They must have had completely different childhoods and teenage experiences. Megan even admitted to Cosmopolitan magazine that when she met him, “I didn’t know who he was. I was too young for Beverly Hills, 90210.”
Photo by Picture Perfect/REX8. He Had a Kid Before He Met Megan
Brian and Megan started seeing each other when she was just 18 — too young to have had any serious adult relationships. But Brian had already had a son, Kassius, with his Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Vanessa Marcil (after he dated his other co-star Tiffani Amber Thiessen, as well). So when Megan married Brian, she became a step-mother in addition to a wife.
Exclusive Pix by Flynet ©20107. He Hates the Paparazzi
“Megan and I so despise the paparazzi. We value our private life and our time at home,” Brian said in an interview in 2010. “The last thing I want is to be ducking in and out of places because I’m worried about my picture being taken, especially when I’m with my son. When they follow me in cars when I pick him up from school, that’s really crossing the line. I understand that they want shots of me with Megan, but we’re pretty boring. They won’t catch us out at clubs, getting drunk or being hauled in for DUIs. All they usually get is pictures of us leaving Staples or Target, or walking into a restaurant.”
Photo by BDG / Rex Features6. He Appeared on Bravo’s “Flipping Out”
One of the clues that things might not have been going well in Brian’s and Megan’s marriage is that he appeared on a reality show without her. Earlier this year, he was on Bravo’s Flipping Out, working with host Jeff Lewis to renovate a Camarillo home that he planned to live in with Megan and their two sons, Noah and Bodhi. But even though they filmed over the course of a few months, Megan never appeared on camera. When asked about her, Brian kept his responses brief, talking about how their schedules were busy.
Source: E! Online5. He Once Tried to Be a Rapper
Look, we get it. The 90s were a crazy, experimental time. But didn’t Brian realize that he wasn’t meant to have a big rap career? In 1996, Brian got rid of the “Austin” part of his name and released a hip-hop album called One Stop Carnival. He told Details magazine: “I went to junior high for music, because my father is a drummer and I grew up playing. Hip-hop started, and everyone was break dancing, and that was kind of a big thing for me. I started doing commercials, but acting wasn’t anything I ever considered doing as a career. I had every intention of being a musician. After 90210 started, I started to miss music and wanted to get back into it. So I got a bunch of equipment and started producing and writing songs on my own. I had a group with Damon Elliott at one point, Dionne Warwick’s son. And because I was so into it personally, the writers on the show thought, ‘Oh, this is something we can add to the character'” – so his 90210 character David Silver also started rapping. We’re impressed that Brian wrote all of the songs himself, but if you look up the song “You Send Me” on YouTube, you’ll see why he didn’t exactly become an Eminem-level musician.
4. His Career Is Actually Still Respectable
Unlike other big stars from the ’90s, Brian has been consistently working on various shows, even if you haven’t really heard much about him. Most recently, he was in the TBS show Wedding Band, which was canceled due to low ratings. but he’s also appeared on Anger Management, Happy Endings, Desperate Housewives, Smallville, CSI: Miami and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He may never reach David Silver-level fame again, but he’s a consistently working actor.
Darren Michaels/©TBS/courtesy Everett Collection3. Someone is Charging $24.99 for a “Success Facts” Book About Him
Apparently, there’s so much to know about Brian that someone wrote a book about him called “Brian Austin Green 103 Success Facts – Everything you need to know about Brian Austin Green.” The 165-page book, which was published in 2014, delves into his career on Beverly Hills, 90210, his personal life, his early life and more. Sounds like a compelling read, huh? It can be yours for the exorbitant price of $24.99 on Kindle. We suppose if we buy it, we’d be able to make this list a lot longer!
Photo by Broadimage/REX2. He Says Beverly Hills is “Nothing” Now
Brian feels that Beverly Hills, 90210 was successful because it aired during a unique window in time, when people got a chance to see a world they knew nothing about, because it was pre-reality TV and internet tabloids. He told Details, “I was just talking to the guy behind the bar, who said, “I used to love the original 90210…the new one is not so good.” And my response is, “Of course not.”90210 only worked because of that time period—because the world didn’t have access to a lifestyle like that. The Internet wasn’t what it is now. With TMZ and Paris Hilton wrecking cars and people being chased on freeways, there’s nothing interesting about Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is nothing anymore.”
Premium1. He Hates Being Famous
Brian is mostly happy that he’s not in the spotlight as much as he was when he starred on Beverly Hills, 90210 – and he doesn’t care if Megan is more famous or successful than he is. “I know the normal male thing is the man works and is successful and brings home the paycheck. I don’t know who the hell set it up, but it’s what people expect. I just don’t care,” he revealed to Details. “I hated being famous during 90210. I’m not an extrovert. I’m 37. I have a beautiful wife. I have an amazing 8-year-old son. I love acting, but this is just my job. F–k, next year I could book some crazy movie that blows up and things could shift completely. And I guarantee you at that point she’ll say, “F–k, thank God. You go do all that shit now. I’m sick of it.”
Photo by Willi Schneider/REX