Heather Locklear Talks ‘Dynasty,’ ‘T.J. Hooker,’ Joan Collins & Not Really Dating Tom Cruise at 90s Con

At 90s Con in Daytona Beach, Heather Locklear dug into her ’80s TV past with some revealing takes on what it was like to work on T.J. Hooker and Dynasty at the same time, which men from her past deserve a kiss (and which deserve a slap), and her early experience with Tom Cruise.

Working on T.J. Hooker and Dynasty At the Same Time

(c)Columbia Pictures Television/courtesy Everett Collection

Locklear’s epic run as a TV star started with Dynasty in 1981, where she played Sammy Jo. In 1982, she joined the second season of William Shatner’s T.J. Hooker as Officer Stacy Sheridan. From 1982 to T.J. Hooker’s cancellation in 1986, Locklear filmed the shows simultaneously, traveling from set to set during the day. “They’d drive me,” said Locklear. “I’d be in my police uniform, padded bra, all that s***, and then I’d have to be all glammed up, and they’d drive me to the Dynasty set, and so it kind of went back and forth…I just had two jobs! I had to learn this part, and then I had to learn this part, and this part’s a little lady-like, and this part isn’t, so it was pretty easy to differentiate.”

Though the schedule sounds stressful, Locklear said regarding the experience, “I’m a very lucky girl.” After T.J. Hooker went off the air, Sammy Jo was made a main cast member for the final seasons of Dynasty.

She Has A Kiss for William Shatner (and a Friendly Slap for Tommy Lee)

In a game of Slap, Kiss or Diss with the moderator, Locklear revealed that she had fond memories of her time working with Shatner, and she’d be happy to see him now, So, out of the “slap, kiss, or diss,” options, Locklear picked “I guess kiss. But not now! Do I have to do it now?”

Her ex Tommy Lee, however, even though she’s friends with him and his wife, is a slap. “I love his wife, I love him, we talk, text a bit…I think slap him.”

And former Spin City costar Charlie Sheen? “I like him so much, I would kiss him, but— we did this movie together, Money Talks, and he goes ‘She [referring to Locklear] doesn’t touch my face.'”

Doing Comedy on Spin City

Locklear began her first major comedic role in 1999, on Spin City with Michael J. Fox. Locklear’s previous resume mostly featured one-hour dramas, but Fox wasn’t concerned — he said “‘Well, shooting Melrose, that was kind of a comedy, wasn’t it?'”

Joan Collins Wasn’t Always The Easiest to Work With

© Aaron Spelling Prod. / Courtesy: Everett Collection

Locklear recalled working with Joan Collins on the set of Dynasty, in a scene where Collins was on-screen and Locklear was reading her lines from off-screen. When it came time for them to reverse and have Locklear record her lines, Collins said, “Oh, is there someone else in this scene?” “She just really didn’t notice there was another actor in the scene,” said Locklear. “But I liked her a lot. She was pretty sassy.”

She ‘Didn’t Really Date’ Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise has often been counted among Locklear’s exes by the media, but she protested that “we didn’t really date.” Locklear met Cruise at an audition early in both their careers: “I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m terrible, but he’s even worse. At that time!” (Neither got the part).

In that era, Locklear felt “he was just like this little baby boy that I feel like I was a little bit older, and he ended up coming over to my house with Sean Penn. And they were just nice, but he was very, ‘yes ma’am’ to me.” Locklear was a “rock ‘n’ roll girl” at the time, so “ma’am didn’t quite cut it.”

Their one date culminated in a trip to a dance club called Club Lingerie, where Cruise did the knee slide move he later made famous in Risky Business. “He actually did that [dance] before [Risky Business], and I was dancing along like, ‘Do you stop dancing if they’re down there?’” she jokes. “But he was very nice to me.”

Return of Swamp Thing Was Not a High Point

©Millimeter Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

When Locklear was told that producers wanted her for a 1989 movie called Return of Swamp Thing, she thought, “That doesn’t sound like a real thing.” But it was a real thing, though not a pleasant memory for Locklear.”I was very embarrassed the whole time, because I had to be in love with this stunt man with all this green stuff on, and dripping, and then sweating…it was just weird. It was a weird thing.”

Heather Locklear at 90s Con, courtesy of Karen Ruud

She Was An Accidental Hairstyle Icon

As for her status as a hairstyle influencer, as one of the first celebrities to show off a blonde dye job with dark roots? “It wasn’t trendy for me,” said Locklear. “It was lazy.”