Boy Meets World Cast Shares Most Memorable Moments and More at Wizard World Chicago

Everyone has that special show that they grew up with. That one show that they not only loved the characters, but that also taught them valuable life lessons along the way. For me and countless others, that show was Boy Meets World.

Boy Meets World was a show that made you laugh and cry, oftentimes in the same scene. The young cast truly felt like friends you got to see once a week — and you always looked forward to it

While at Wizard World Chicago, Ben Savage, Will Friedle, Rider Strong, and Danielle Fishel came together for the first time to talk about co-stars, memorable moments, and generally anything the crowd felt like asking about.

Here is a list of 10 things we learned along the way.

1. William Daniels

William Daniels played the stoic Mr. Feeney. His gentle guidance taught Cory Matthews and the others, new ways to maneuver their youthful years in a more proficient way.

Through all the ups and downs, Mr. Feeney was always there to catch them when they fell — even when it was their own fault they tripped in the first place. Surprisingly, William Daniels wasn’t much different from the character he played.

“He never treated me like I was a kid. It didn’t matter if you were 15, 16, or whatever — you were a professional actor. He was a wonderful man and great actor,” Will Friedle said about his dear friend.

“He could be harsh at times — never in his words — but he might give you a glare if you joke around too much. Becoming an actor, you can have no one better than a mentor like Bill — he is a remarkable man,” Will continued. 

2. Cherished Memories

Boy Meets World was on the air for seven years, and in that amount of time there were more than a few memorable moments. From Cory and Topanga’s first kiss, to Eric doing his trademark “Feeney call,” everyone has a moment that stands out to them as a favorite. The same is true for the actors as well.

Rider Strong recalled, “The most cherished shooting memories were the Halloween episodes. That is by far the most fun I had on set in my life.”

Danielle Fishel chimed in with a memory that happened before they even started shooting for the day.

“Ben and Rider lived near each other, so my mom would drive me to one of their houses. I would show up 30 minutes before we needed to leave and I would sit. I have so many memories of just sitting so awkwardly. My memories are just of me sitting in your living room — I would just literally sit and stare at the wall,” Fishel laughed.

Will Friedle echoed her with his own offscreen recollection.

“The things I remember most about the show is being with them behind the scenes — and growing up with them. Rider and I went to Europe together when we were 17 or 18. It’s things like that I remember,” Friedle said.

“I love the show, and am proud of being part of the show, but my favorite memories are of these people all together,” he said while pointing at his castmates.

3. Hard Times

Boy Meets World was often described as a family sitcom, especially in the early years of the series. As time went on, plots involved alcoholism, runaways, and other dark themes. Episodes like these often put the young actor’s abilities to the test.

Danielle Fishel stated one of the most difficult episodes was when Shawn Hunter joined a cult.

Rider Strong agreed, “They sprang that on us. I remember we didn’t even have a script for the table reading. They were printing it out and handing it to us while we were doing the table reading.”

“I got that monologue where I discover God. I remember being terrified —  like this is a drama suddenly! That was a hard episode.”

4. Chicago

Wizard World travels around the country, often taking several of the celebrity guests along with them. Luckily for Ben Savage, this stop was a little more special for him.

“I was born in Chicago. My family is from the Glencoe Highland park area. After the con, I’m going to spend a few days in Chicago,” Savage said.

He then joked, “Anyone want to meet me at a Cubs game or the Sluggers? Maybe get some pizza?”

I’m sure he had plenty of fans there that would have loved to take him up on the offer.

5. Newbie

Many of the stars of the Boy Meets World cast are repeat offenders when it comes to the con circuit. That wasn’t the case for Danielle Fishel, who dared her first outing this year.

“I’m really excited. The day has made me feel a lot better, because I was a little nervous about it before I came,” Fishel explained.

“Will has been prepping me for some time. He was trying to be helpful. He would be like, everybody is going to be so nice — then he would go into a horror story. My eyes would get really wide and then he’d be like, but most of the time it’s wonderful,” Danielle Fishel continued.

At this point, everything was still going well for her. “I got to meet so many people today and everybody’s been so lovely — it has been a nice experience. I’m thrilled to be here.”

Hopefully, the weekend continued on this way — so that we can see her more often.

6. Final Episode

The last episode of Boy Meets World was a touching, bittersweet moment that the fans will always remember. All the emotion not only stirred the fans, but the actors as well.

Rider Strong confessed, “That was just all us. I was already going to New York myself. There is no filter between me and Shawn at that moment —  that was me saying goodbye to Bill.”

Danielle Fishel  added, “We were really emotional that week.”

 “Like Will was saying, Bill could be a little harsh — very professional. Unlike how we were, unprofessional,” Fishel said. “To have been working with him for 7 years, he did kind of feel like a teacher. He was emotional, so us seeing him being emotional — when he was never emotional — made all of us cry.”

7. Relevance

Oftentimes when television shows age, they don’t stand the test of time. Even though Boy Meets World aired in the 90’s, many of the topics still ring true today.

“When the show ended I kind of felt like —  I’ll never hear about that again. So the fact that it lasted this long, is just wonderful. That is why I come to these events and meet fans,” Rider Strong stated.

“Two people came up to me today and told me they became teachers because of Boy Meets World —  and that’s awesome,” Strong mentioned.

Ben Savage felt it was the results of the quality of work everyone did.

“If you do something you are passionate about, and put yourself into it, put your heart into it — then whatever happens, happens. I think it was lightning in a bottle. All of us put ourselves into these characters, and gave it our all every week,” Savage said.

8. Vader

Adam Scott, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and even Brittany Murphy, all made special guest appearances on Boy Meets World back in the day. Perhaps one of the most memorable stars to rub elbows with Cory and Shawn, was the WWE wrestler, Vader.

Rider Strong and Will Friedle remember him quite fondly.

Strong reminisced, “I have great memories of him. He was such a nice guy. I used to sit with him at lunch and ask him about his career.”

“The craziest part is, that he did real fighting before he became a professional wrestler. He would do these crazy pit fights,” Rider Strong told us.

“He had an insane life, and he was the nicest guy — he was the sweetest guy. Vader was awesome,”  Strong finished.

Friedle added in, “The one thing I remember, was that he was at one of these fights, and he felt a pain  in his lower back. He looked down, and there was a woman in her 70’s or 80’s that just stabbed him in the back. It was the mom of the guy that he was fighting.”

9. Lasting Impressions

As fans learned from the experiences of this foursome, it turns out that the actors’ roles affected them just as much.

Danielle Fishel said, “The relationships that we had, and the experiences we had with each other on that show, has impacted the people we grew up to be — and the people that we are now.”

Savage remarked, “People tell us all the time that they grew up with our show — sometimes they forget that we were also growing up with our show as well.”

“We were all teenagers and going through these experiences in our personal lives — in addition to the making of the show. I think that certainly did impact us. I learned a lot from the three people sitting in front of you, and I enjoyed my experiences with them — they all shaped the person that I am,” Ben Savage smiled.

10. The SAT

Eric Matthews was typically the “B” story of most episodes. Only on occasion did Eric rise to be the center of attention, and there was a very specific reason for this.

Will Friedle explained, “Anytime you see an Eric centered episode, that was the week Ben had the SAT.”

He added, “It was just two completely different experiences for us. These guys would have their dramatic kind of “Dawson Creek thing,” and then here is Eric sneezing the lottery numbers!”

“I was the dancing monkey. You guys had one show, and then it was like, here’s Will coming out of the couch,” Friedle laughed.

Sure, Eric was often the comedy relief, but a good belly laugh was needed as relief — in response to all those tough subjects striking out at the viewers.

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Be sure to check out all of our coverage of Wizard World Chicago. Find out more about Wizard World here.

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