What Days of Our Lives’s AnnaLynne McCord Learned About Shannen Doherty During Her 90210 Reboot Era

AnnaLynne McCord plays “Abigail” DiMera on Days of Our Lives. Before that, she was known for playing Naomi Clark on CW’s 90210 reboot. Naomi was the classmate every girl wanted to be, and every boy wanted to date. 

McCord acted like a “little brat” on the teen soap. Now that she looks back, she appreciates it more. McCord revealed that she met with the original cast of Beverly Hills 90210, including the late Shannen Doherty. 

Meeting the OGs of Beverly Hills

In an interview with TV Insider, McCord spoke about her time on the 90210 reboot. She looks back at those times fondly. McCord has more appreciation for that role than she did when she was in her 20s. She was in the headspace that she was “a little independent” and felt that “everything was about me.” 

One memory she has from that time is meeting the original cast of Beverly Hills 90210. McCord wasn’t familiar with the show since she could only watch wholesome shows like Little House on the Prairie. Regardless, she treasures the moments she had with the cast. 

READ: 7 Things To Know About AnnaLynne McCord On Days of Our Lives

Lessons Learned

McCord once met Shannen Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh. At the time, the tabloids were ruthless about the actress. McCord defended Doherty, saying that she “tells the truth with her words and her energy.” This is something she learned from the late star. 

“And those were aspects that I respected, and I appreciated meeting her, and I will always remember her in that way,” McCord told TV Insider.

She also picked up something else from the cast — putting her own stamp on her character. The DAYS star wanted to do something different with Naomi. She allowed her to be her own person while simultaneously honoring the spirit of the original 90210 cast members.

What made her job challenging was that McCord could never relate to Naomi. For example, she was home-schooled, so, unlike Naomi, she didn’t experience crazy moments in high school or college. It’s hard to believe since she absolutely killed that role.