“Boy Meets World” Star Will Friedle Just Got Seriously Real About Child Stardom And Having To Accept That “You’ve Lived The First Line Of Your Obituary By The Time You’re 17”
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In case you missed it, the former child stars of Boy Meets World launched a rewatch podcast back in 2022, and it’s fair to say that they haven’t held back when it comes to sharing behind-the-scenes anecdotes and memories.
For context, the ABC sitcom premiered in 1993 and ran until 2000, with Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Will Friedle merely children when the series launched.
Danielle was 12 when she was cast as the main character's (Cory) love interest, Topanga, Rider was 13 when he was cast as Cory’s best friend, Shawn, and Will was 17 when he landed the role of Cory’s big brother, Eric.
Since launching their podcast, Pod Meets World, the trio have spoken candidly about everything from filming “horribly uncomfortable” intimate scenes as teenagers, to their controversial relationship with convicted sex offender Brian Peck.
And in this week’s episode, Will got seriously real about the impact that both sitcom acting and being a child star can have on a person.
The actor, now 47, reflected on living “the first line of your obituary by the time you’re 17,” and also opened up about the addictive nature of performing in front of a live audience each week — and how difficult it can be when that suddenly goes away.
With Rider absent from the episode due to jury duty, Will and Danielle sat down with actor and musician Leisha Hailey, who was a guest star on an episode of Boy Meets World back in 1996.
Leisha went on to enjoy huge success in the hit TV series The L Word, but admitted during her conversation that she preferred the sitcom format of performing in front of a live audience.
“I really think that what you had is the dream job,” she told the pod’s hosts.
“I think so, too,” Will immediately agreed. “There’s the joy of you rehearsing all week and you’re leading up to show night. Then the audience comes in, you feel the energy, and the thing that I always loved was some of the stuff that was getting all the laughs during the week isn’t getting the same laughs from the audience.”
“They’re laughing at stuff you weren’t expecting,” he continued. “It’s the greatest thing, you’re reading them while they’re reading you and you’re trying to figure out the best way to dance.”
Leisha agreed and said that filming Boy Meets World reminded her “so much of theater,” before admitting to Danielle and Will: “I don’t even understand how you guys let that go. Like, how did you get through that?”
“It’s been a rough 23 years,” Danielle joked, before Will offered an incredibly articulate insight into why so many sitcom actors end up struggling outside of work.
“We joke about it but it’s easy to see how sitcom actors, especially young sitcom actors, fall into that unfortunate stereotype of drinking or drugs or going down the wrong path,” he explained. “Because, as we’ve said so many times, Thursday night you’re somebody and you’re in front of an audience and Friday morning you’re not.”
“There are some shocks, but you could kind of tell the people that weren’t going to be able to transition as easily,” Will continued. “It’s looking for that rush, that audience becomes a drug, and it’s literally gone in one day.”
And Leisha was obviously taken off-guard by this concept, saying: “I never equated it to the rush of the audience, I always thought it must be an age thing. You know, just growing up and then: ‘Who am I?’”
This prompted Will to open up about the realities of child stardom, saying: “Well, there’s something interesting about knowing, chances are, you’ve lived the first line of your obituary by the time you’re 17.”
“You can go off and have a great life, a wonderful life, whatever you want to do, but chances are it’s going to say: ‘Will Friedle from Boy Meets World was killed today by a lion,’” he joked. “I mean, there can be a difficulty in that transition for some people, which is why being a child actor is usually a whole separate thing to starting to act when you’re 19.”
“Yeah, like, your identity is cemented and you’re trying to either chase it or leave it behind,” Leisha agreed.
And she went on to reiterate just how blown away she was by Will’s comments about performing in front of a live audience, sharing: “The audience thing is very interesting because from spending one week with you guys, I remember that feeling and how much fun it was.”
“I can’t imagine seven years, week after week, like, what that would do to me,” she added. “How much I would miss it.”
It's worth mentioning that none of the former cast members of Boy Meets World have ever had any known issues with substance abuse, with Will, Danielle, and Rider often expressing their gratitude that they came away from both child fame and sitcom acting relatively unscathed.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.
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