It’s hard to imagine iconic 1990s television show Boy Meets World without Will Friedle in the role of Eric Matthews, but that’s almost what happened when Friedle missed his audition. According to Friedle, he missed his audition for the role of the older brother in what was, at the time of audition, called The Untitled Ben Savage Project because he got sick, and producers ended up casting someone else.
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“When they were casting for the show originally, it was called The Untitled Ben Savage Project,” Friedle told Entertainment Tonight at 90s Con last weekend (via PEOPLE). “And they were casting for an older brother, and I got sick and couldn’t go.”
But what could have been the end of that road for Friedle and led to a very different Boy Meets World than what fans ended up with, turned out quite differently. While the other actor ended up filming the pilot, he ended up not being tall enough to play the older brother role, which gave Friedle the second chance he needed.
“The actor was fine,” Friedle explained. “There was nothing wrong with him. He was a fine actor, but he wasn’t tall enough. He was the same size as Ben, and they knew Ben was going to grow and they wanted an older brother, so they recast.”
He added, “But I always tell people, if that actor was five inches taller, I’m not sitting here right now. You never know how life is going to work. You just never know.”
Boy Meets World ran for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC and followed the everyday life of Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) as he navigated life from the point viewers first met him in middle school all the way through college and his eventual marriage to Topanga (Danielle Fishel). The series saw Cory and his friends deal with a variety of issues, such as drinking, sex, and divorce in a relatable and real way that earned the series a devoted fanbase.
In 2014, the series got a spinoff on Disney Channel, Girl Meets World. That series, which ran until 2017, followed the story of Cory and Topanga’s daughter Riley (Rowan Blanchard) and son Auggie (August Maturo) as they also made their way through daily life alongside their friends. Friedle reprised his role as Eric Matthews in a recurring role in the series.
What do you think about Friedle almost not being cast in Boy Meets World? How different do you think the beloved series would have been? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
