Jack Wagner praises Marcia Cross for infamous ‘Melrose Place’ storyline

Jack Wagner says it was Marcia Cross‘ commitment to her role as Dr. Kimberly Shaw on Melrose Place that created his favorite storyline on the series.

When asked by former costar Courtney Thorne-Smith which of his arcs sticks out as either “really traumatic or really fun,” Wagner replied, “When Marcia was in the insane asylum,” on Sunday’s episode of the Melrose Place rewatch podcast Still the Place.

“It was great, because we really worked well together in terms of the thespian part of it. She was so committed to being insane, and therefore I was so committed, too,” he explained. “And it was physical, like throwing things, and really in a chamber. I remember specifically that storyline felt like a really strong acting exercise, because we wanted to make it believable.”

Before Wagner’s hiring, Kimberly’s primary storyline was pining after and continually being disappointed by Thomas Calabro‘s Michael Mancini. But after being pronounced dead following a car accident with a drunk Michael at the wheel, Kimberly disappears, only to return without any of her earlier sweetness, bent on revenge. Kimberly nearly gives another character a lobotomy, kidnaps a baby, and plants a set of explosives around the titular apartment complex, which all land her in an institution and under the care of Dr. Burns.

“He was there to help her, so there was a compassionate part, as well as having to convince her she was crazy,” Wagner explained. “Marcia was really able to go some place that she maybe hadn’t gone on the show” due to Kimberly’s radical transformation, he said. “That was it for me, just really working with another actor on another level.”

Cross’ seasons-long mental unraveling led to several of the show’s most iconic moments. Creator Darren Star reflected on the wig reveal seen around the world — when Kimberly reappears after the accident and de-wigs to display a giant brain surgery scar — to Entertainment Weekly in 2019.

“I remember [when we were shooting] the episode where Kimberly pulls off her wig, Marcia was sort of like, ‘What is going on here? How am I playing this?'” Star remembered. “And I said, “Well, you know, she’s basically…she’s nuts.’ And Marcia’s like, ‘Okay, I get it’ — but she really got it. She was brilliant in the role. As fun as Dr. Kimberly Shaw was in the beginning, it was straightforward. And the Kimberly that came back was just off the rails, and we had the best time writing that character.”

In 2023, Cross revealed that while her character took a turn for the unstable between seasons 2 and 3, it was actually the call to return to the show that provided her with some much-needed personal stability.

“I lost somebody in the middle of it,” she said, referring to the actor Richard Jordan, who had been her partner for years. “Then they called me asking if I wanted to go back. I remember being thrown a lifeline because I was grieving so terribly. When I look at it now, it’s my life in grief.”

You can listen to the rest of Wagner’s interview with podcast cohosts Thorne-Smith, Daphne Zuniga, and Laura Leighton on Still the Place above.