Beverly Hills, 90210 star Brian Austin Green, 45, opened up about losing his friend and co-star Luke Perry for the first time since his death earlier this month, on a recent episode of his With Brian Austin Green podcast.
Perry died in hospital on March 4, after suffering a massive stroke at his home in February. He was 52.
Green, who played David Silver on 90210, spoke for the first time since Perry's passing about the deep, emotional bond he shared with the actor who he called "another family member."
"Luke was a special guy," Green shared. "I'm still mourning over it so there's a part of me that's kind of shocked that I'm speaking about Luke this way."
While he always knew this day would come, Green said losing his friend "in such an abrupt way" at age 52 made everything more difficult.
And although it's only been two weeks since Perry passed away, Green says he felt pressured by 90210 fans to pay tribute right away.
The actor told his Instagram followers that "everyone grieves in different ways," before sharing his thoughts in full on his podcast.
"Luke was one of those people nobody had a bad story about," he said. "He was just a great guy. And he was Luke no matter where you saw him, no matter when you saw him, no matter what he was going through. He was a rock."
Green also revealed that he sent Perry a text message after learning he had passed away, "knowing obviously that he can't text me back but on some level, hoping, that he would text me back, or that he was out there somewhere."
"And I know he is. I know he's looking down and I know he's smiling."
He also shared another heartbreaking detail: the 90210 cast reunited - some for the first time in 18 years - at Gabrielle Carteris' home to mourn Perry.
"You were happy to see everybody and you felt like it's been too long and it was great," Green said. "But what a horrible reason to have to see everybody."
The rest of the 90210 crew have also continued sharing tributes to Perry in the weeks since his death.
Jason Priestley posted a pair of photos of himself and Perry - one old, one recent - to Instagram soon after the actor's death.
"It's taken me a couple of days to figure out how to write this..." he began. "My dear friend of 29 years, Luke Perry, was one of those truly special people who really cared..."
Ian Ziering posted a photo of himself hugging Perry to Instagram, saying he will "forever bask in the loving memories we've shared over the last thirty years."
"God please give him a seat close to you," he said, "he deserves it."
Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, and Shannen Doherty have also offered their condolences to Perry's family, while slamming fans who shamed them for not grieving "correctly."
CBS TV President David Stapf also teased that the upcoming revival of 90210 will "figure out" a way to honor Perry, who was not set to star on the series because of his commitment to Riverdale.
[H/T: Today]