Rob Estes knew going into the new "90210" that he couldn't hang with the kids anymore.
But he was fearful about where he'd be exiled.
"When I started this show, yes, I thought the adults would be like furniture," says the 45-year-old actor, also known for his longtime role on "Melrose Place."
On "90210," airing 8 p.m. EDT Tuesdays on the CW, he's Harry Wilson, the high-school principal and father of two of the show's teen-agers. Playing an adult role on a teen drama is almost a kiss of death for an actor. After all, the juicy drama goes to actors nearly half his age and with far less experience.
For some of the cast, this is their first major break. Estes is a veteran, with dozens of TV and film credits under his belt.
When you're an adult on a show like this, "you say 'hi' as the kids come into the room and that's it," he says. "And to some extent, that's still here.
"I definitely have more time than I thought I would, than other (actors) get to have."
During this premiere season, Harry has been part of a long-lost-child story line. Harry, returning to his native Beverly Hills, discovers that his high-school sweetheart had his baby.
Estes welcomes the plot, which allowed him more screen time from the beginning than he assumed he'd get. He also doesn't mind another staple of teen dramas -- the fact teens are written with more sophistication than a real teen might actually have.
"It's interesting to see someone who is sophisticated, side-by-side with youth and insecurity," he says. "It's an interesting mix."
Estes is the son of a high-school principal in Norfolk, Va. "He is nothing like Harry," Estes says. "(Dad) is from the school of hard knocks. Harry understands being an example is better than a heavy hand."
Also, Harry is much more trusting of his children -- enough to think his teen daughter will do the right thing at a party where drinking and drugging is happening.
"I wouldn't be that trusting," says Estes, the father of two pre-teens.
In fact, he doesn't let his children, ages 9 and 6, watch "90210."
"I don't know if they'd be interested anyway," he says, "and if they were, it might be for the wrong reasons.
"In any event, I'm not willing to take that chance."
(E-mail Terry Morrow of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at morrow2(at)knews.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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