He was the brooding, bad boy on the 1990s TV series "Beverly Hills 90210." He left Fredericktown, Ohio, a small town in the heart of Amish country, and got bit parts in soap operas before landing in the right ZIP code. Perry, who has two children with his ex-wife, Rachel Minnie Sharp, talks about being a teen idol, raising beef and pointing his children in another direction. He stars in Hallmark Channel's original movie "A Gunfighter's Pledge" at 9 p.m. Saturday.

What is it about Westerns that make them so much fun for actors to do?

You're not inside all day. You get to be outside and have horses all around [laughs]. The thing about the movie ["A Gunfighter's Pledge"] is I wanted it to be simply about a guy who keeps his word. Nothing more. An honest guy. I didn't want any romantic connection between my character and the female lead to distract from that.

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PG audio

For a longer version of this interview download it as a podcast at Post-gazette.com or itunes.

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I understand you grew up around horses or at least in close proximity.

You know, it's funny. There were a lot of horse-drawn vehicles where I grew up. There was a big Amish population.

Do you have any regrets professionally?

How long do you got? I try to keep those to a minimum. There are probably some choices I would not have made if I could go back and make them again. I think I would probably say disparaging things about others if we were to get into that, so I'll refrain.

Has acting been everything you thought it would be?

Yes, I think on some levels, and on some levels, no. I hadn't intended on doing it this long. But it's evolving so much right now because of the technology. I take solace that on one level acting hasn't changed since its inception. From my end of it, it's very simple -- try to make them believe you are this guy. That hasn't changed since Greek theater, so if I just think about that and none of the other stuff, then yeah, it is kind of everything I thought it would be. The business end of it, you can never prepare yourself for that. They just can't teach it.

Since you hit the jackpot with "90210" has it been hard to top?

I don't know. I think if you are looking to top that, you probably get disappointed. The trick is, and this is something I've only recently started figuring out, you can't think about that, trying to top the last one. If at the end of this whole thing called acting I am going to be better at it than when I started, then I need to play different parts and do different things. Not all of them are going to be a jackpot.

When the whole teen idol thing happened, did you enjoy it or was it uncomfortable?

Is it difficult? Yeah, it's difficult because your life changes in so many ways, but you know, I hate it when actors bitch about this stuff. It happens. The changes come, and you deal with them the best you can. I have the same friends I had in high school. I don't know if I was popular or not, but the friendships are long lasting. I'm proud of that.

Do you have aspirations beyond acting?

I want to raise beef. All natural 100 percent grass-fed.

That's what they're supposed to eat. You know they weren't walking around in corn fields before we got here. Let's just start plugging it now. I am gonna sell all natural beef. You know Jimmy Dean? He was an actor, too, for a minute. He made so much more money off of sausage then he ever made playing on "Daniel Boone."

Is show business something you would want for your children?

No, I wouldn't wish it on them. Serve your fellow man; he needs it. I think we just live in a society that puts way too much value on what I do and not enough value on what people in the Peace Corps do. But what I think is really great is a lot of people in the public eye -- George [Clooney], Bono, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, bring attention to what is going on in Africa and Darfur. They are bringing some legitimate value to what we do because it's outside the spectrum of "ohhh, doesn't that look cool," or "ohhh, doesn't that sound cool." I have no illusions that other than that we are not really changing the world on a day-to-day basis. That's why I am so inspired by people like that because they really are. They found a way to actually make something happen on a major scale. On a small scale there are opportunities to do that, but I just think the world would be much better served by a doctor or by somebody who can help inspire a new form of energy rather than a guy that does what I do.