Spelling Counts

Green says the cast members are "really proud" that Spelling has arguably eclipsed some of them as a TV star. And NBC thinks her appeal will endure. "None of us were sure she could make the leap from the series to carrying a movie," says DeKoven. "Now we think she's got a big career ahead of her.''

On TV at least. While Spelling may not have the range or presence yet for feature films, watching her plow effortlessly through what passes for dialogue on the Mar Vista, Calif., set of Call Girl makes it clear why she's a natural at TV movies. Spelling prepares for each scene either by kibitzing with the makeup artist or staring into space. "I have a photographic memory," she explains. "I look at a page of a script once and I have it down cold."

Spelling had one day off after finishing Call Girl and resuming work on 90210, a schedule that the actress finds oddly comforting. "I never get asked out, and my roommate, who's gorgeous, never does either," says Spelling, who lives with a casting associate in a Westwood high-rise and denies reports that she's involved with Melrose Place hunk Patrick Muldoon. "That's why I work so hard. I want to be taken seriously, sure, but I also don't want to feel lonely. This way I'm usually too busy to notice if I am or not."