How Fred Savage scored his iconic The Wonder Years role
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It’s hard to imagine anyone but Fred Savage playing Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years. And apparently, the actor’s parents didn’t want to imagine it either.
In the latest installment of PeopleTV’s Couch Surfing, Savage shares how he won the iconic role, explaining that the show’s producers approached him after seeing his performance in a film. Given his youth at the time, it was up to Savage’s parents to decide if the actor would take the role.
“They went back and forth on it for a long time,” Savage tells host Lola Ogunnaike, noting his parents were concerned about how their lives, and Savage’s, would change if the show became a success. But ultimately, “My mom told me that my dad was like, ‘If we see this on TV and some other kid is doing that part, could we live with that?’ And they’re like, ‘No,'” Savage says. The actor met with the show’s writers, and the rest, as they say, is history.
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Savage also views a snippet from the show’s series finale, featuring himself as Kevin in an argument with his longtime on-and-off girlfriend Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar).
“I think we were breaking up, or just getting back…she looks like she has break-up face, so maybe we’re breaking up there,” Savage says. “Kind of like sad, but not really. I’ve seen that face.”
Watch the full clip above for more. All six seasons of The Wonder Years are available to stream on Hulu.
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