See the ‘Boy Meets World’ cast 25 years after the series finale

Ben Savage (Cory Matthews)

Ben Savage led 158 episodes of Boy Meets World across seven seasons — not to mention 71 episodes (and a special) of the Disney spinoff Girl Meets World (2014–2017) — as Cory Matthews.

“When Mr. Feeny said ‘class dismissed,’ which still gets me, and then we wrapped, this huge wave of emotion went over me,” Savage said of filming the series finale during 2018’s New York Comic-Con. “Like, ‘wait, wait no! One more take!’ I’ll always remember that moment. It was like someone was closing the door on our childhood — but in a good way! It definitely left an impact.”

Savage, the younger brother of The Wonder Years star Fred Savage, was a busy child actor on stage and screen before landing the role of Cory. After a break from acting following the series finale, Savage appeared on several popular series, including Chuck (2008), Without a Trace (2008), and Bones (2011).

Amusingly, he played younger versions of characters played by actor Mandy Patinkin on both Criminal Minds (2015, 2020) and Homeland (2020).

Over the past two decades, Savage also took an interest in politics. He graduated from Stanford University in 2004 with a degree in political science and interned for Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter. In 2022, he made an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council, and the following year ran for Congress as a Democrat in California, though he lost the primary to Laura Friedman.

In 2023, he married graphic designer Tessa Angermeier. That same year, Fishel, Strong, and Friedle said Savage hadn’t spoken to them in three years.

“He disappeared — I wish I knew why, to this day,” Friedle told Variety. “We didn’t have a fight. There’s no falling out. There was no animosity. He just woke up one day and decided I don’t want this person in my life anymore.”

Fishel added, “Speaking for myself, Ben and I may be estranged right now and we may have our complaints about each other, but I will always love Ben and want what’s best for him. I don’t think this is the end of our story — but time will tell.”

Danielle Fishel (Topanga Lawrence)

Danielle Fishel starred as Topanga, Cory’s quirky classmate and eventual girlfriend (and spouse), on all seven seasons of Boy Meets World and its spinoff, Girl Meets World.

Fishel wasn’t the first actress cast in the role, and her years on the series were marked with as much anxiety as joy. In 2022, she spoke on Pod Meets World about being humiliated by co-creator Michael Jacobs on set as a child.

Still, she remains wistful about her experience on the series. “We had the feeling we were doing the show for our grandparents,” she said at the 2018 New York Comic-Con. “I’m actually thankful we didn’t know that too many people were watching, because it made us more thoughtful. If I had known how many people were watching, I would’ve been more self-conscious about things, and instead we got to be very natural and explore our characters.”

In the years since Boy Meets World, Fishel branched into directing and hosting. She’s helmed episodes of several Disney series, including Raven’s Home, Sydney to the Max, and Just Roll With It, not to mention four episodes of Girl Meets World.

She hosted Say What? Karaoke (2003) and The Dish (2008–2011), and has appeared on Fox’s The Masked Singer. Since 2022, she’s hosted the Pod Meets World podcast alongside Strong and Friedle.

Fishel has two children with her husband, writer and musician Jensen Karp. In 2024, she revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but emphasized that doctors “found it so, so, so early” and that she’s “going to be fine.”

Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter)

Rider Strong became a teen sensation as Boy Meets World bad boy Shawn Hunter, Cory’s best friend who comes from a troubled home. The actor starred in all seven seasons and returned for the Girl Meets World spinoff.

Friedle joked during a 2018 appearance at the New York Comic-Con that Strong’s Shawn was perhaps too often the focus of episodes, joking that the writers seemed to always ask, “Okay, how are we going to make Shawn angst-ridden this week?”

”When Shawn became more dramatic, it was really right for me because that was more me,” Strong told Entertainment Weekly in 2013. ”I was kind of an angsty teen — writing poetry and very serious about everything.” 

Strong followed his years on Boy Meets World with roles in Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever (2002) and its 2009 sequel, as well as episodes of Veronica Mars (2006), Bones (2007), and Castle (2009). Strong has also worked as a voice actor on series like Kim Possible (2002–2004) and Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015–2019).

A director as well as an actor, Strong helmed the 2008 indie Irish Twins alongside his brother, Shiloh, and directed 18 episodes of Girl Meets World. These days, he serves as a cohost of the Pod Meets World podcast with Fishel and Friedle.

Strong married actress Alexandra Barreto in 2013. They share one son.

Will Friedle (Eric Matthews)

Will Friedle starred on all seven seasons of Boy Meets World as Eric Matthews, Cory’s hip older brother who became more of an oddball as the series progressed. He reprised the role in four episodes of the Girl Meets World spinoff.

Speaking at New York Comic-Con in 2018, Friedle revealed that he pivoted to voice acting after the series due to anxiety he developed after being on camera for so many years. “What brought me to voice-over was anxiety,” he said. “I was planning to do more on-camera work, but then I got hit with these anxiety attacks that prevented me from doing that.”

He continued, “I was so thankful I had voice-over because I could still perform and act… To train for it, Kevin Conroy, who was Batman, was kind of my mentor and showed me the ropes and what to do.”

Friedle remains an active voice actor, having performed in several animated projects for properties like Batman, Transformers, and Marvel. Recently, he appeared on several episodes of Prime Video’s The Legend of Vox Machina (2023–2024).

He also hosts the Pod Meets World podcast alongside Fishel and Strong.

Friedle married his wife, Susan Martens, in 2016.

Betsy Randle (Amy Matthews)

Betsy Randle played Matthews matriarch Amy on all seven seasons of Boy Meets World, as well as three episodes of the spinoff Girl Meets World.

”The role of the mother was actually much more heard than I thought at the time,” Randle told EW in 2013. ”I realize that now as people stop me and thank me for being this good mom.”

Randle still appears on television, including episodes of Adam Ruins Everything (2015–2016) and Matlock (2025).

William Russ (Alan Matthews)

The charming and versatile William Russ starred on all seven seasons of Boy Meets World (1993–2000) as Alan Matthews, Cory and Eric’s father. He directed eight episodes of the series and returned for several episodes of Girl Meets World.

“Some of my greatest memories are from the first year, when the kids were little and it was all new and fresh,” Russ told EW in 2013. ”Maybe it was even the episode when we chased each other with water guns.”

Russ, a prolific character actor throughout the ’80s and ’90s, turned in many memorable performances following his stint on Boy Meets World, including on the HBO hits Deadwood (2004) and The Sopranos (2006). He appeared on several episodes of Boston Legal (2005–2008), enjoyed an arc on The Young and the Restless (2009–2010), and recently recurred on series like Scandal (2015), 9-1-1 (2019), and Animal Kingdom (2022).

Russ shares two children with his wife, actress Clare Wren.

Anthony Tyler Quinn (Jonathan Turner)

Anthony Tyler Quinn played the shaggy-haired, hog-riding Mr. Turner in the early seasons of Boy Meets World (1994–1996). The cool teacher even became the legal guardian of Strong’s Shawn in the back half of season 2.

But, quite famously, Mr. Turner got into a motorcycle accident at the end of season 4 and more or less disappeared from the series. He was referenced, however, in the series finale, when a character revealed he’d been on “the other side of the school.”

What gives? Well, Quinn reprised Mr. Turner on Girl Meets World (2015–2017), in which we learned that he became the superintendent of the New York Board of Education in the aftermath of his accident, and even helped Cory score his job as a history teacher at their old school.

Quinn spoke about his odd journey through the franchise on a 2023 episode of Pod Meets World. Quinn revealed that just a few weeks before shooting season 4, Disney executives decided to age up the characters and move them from middle school to high school, dramatically reducing his role.

In the subsequent years, Quinn appeared on several popular series, including 3rd Rock From the Sun (1999), Dexter (2008), and Pretty Little Liars (2011), among many others.

Quinn married his wife, Margaret, in 1985. They have two children.

Matthew Lawrence (Jack Hunter)

Matthew Lawrence joined Boy Meets World during its fifth season as Shawn’s half-brother Jack, who would go on to become Eric’s roommate.

Last year, Lawrence revealed to PEOPLE that he’d never actually watched his episodes of the series. After revisiting them for an appearance on Pod Meets World, he said, “I was actually really, I kind of pleasantly, I don’t want to like to say surprised, but I really enjoyed it.” He added that he was expecting to find it “outdated,” but conceded that the show “really, really held up.”

Lawrence acted extensively before joining Boy Meets World, starring in films like Mrs. Doubtfire (1994) and the series Blossom (1991–1994), in which he played a younger version of his real-life older brother, Joey Lawrence.

He followed his stint on the series with roles in films like The Hot Chick (2002) and The Comebacks (2007), as well as episodes of Boston Public (2004), Melissa & Joey (2011–2014), and Workaholics (2015).

He also appeared on the latest season of The Masked Singer, in which he was revealed to be behind the Paparazzo mask. Fishel was even brought on stage as a clue to Paparazzo’s identity.

Lawrence was previously married to Dancing With the Stars‘ professional Cheryl Burke, though the pair divorced in 2022. He’s since been dating TLC singer Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.

Trina McGee (Angela Moore)

Trina McGee debuted on season 5 of Boy Meets World as Angela, Shawn’s girlfriend throughout the series’ back half. When she returned for a guest spot on Girl Meets World (2015), we learned that she and Shawn split following the events of the original series — and that she’s considering starting a family with her husband.

During a 2022 episode of Pod Meets World, the actress spoke about racist remarks she received from producers while on the series, as well as her absence from the series finale.

“I was told, in kind of a weird, off-handed way by a very important person, that you guys all went to [showrunner] Michael Jacobs, and you said, ‘We don’t want her in the last episode. She’s somehow taking our light,’ was the gist of it,” McGee said, an allegation the hosts denied.

“I was under the impression that y’all got together and did not want me in the last show, for some reason I was going to take some shine or something to that effect… That was really hurtful to me for a long time.”

Last year, McGee announced that she was pregnant at age 54, but revealed several months later that she suffered a miscarriage. “There are so many things that come when you really want a family and you want your family to be complete. There are so many dreams that you have. It was hard to face the fact that that’s not going to happen at this point in the junction,” she said on The Tamron Hall Show.

Maitland Ward (Rachel McGuire)

Maitland Ward was Rachel during seasons 6 and 7 of Boy Meets World (1998–2000), playing a friend to the core cast and a brief romantic partner to Lawrence’s Jack.

Ward chased the finale with appearances on series like Boston Public (2002) and Rules of Engagement (2007), as well as the film White Chicks (2004), before making waves as a cosplay performer at several different conventions.

In 2019, Ward made headlines when she pivoted to performing in the adult film industry. In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, she said shooting adult films has been “the most comfortable I have ever felt on a set,” adding that she feels she received “more respect” now than ever before in her career.

Last year, she published a memoir, My Escape From Hollywood: Why I Left to Become a Porn Star, which is described as “a steamy, no-holds-barred memoir chronicling everything from her days on the classic soap The Bold and The Beautiful, to her stint on popular ABC/Disney sitcom Boy Meets World, to her meteoric rise to porn stardom, and why she decided to kiss mainstream Hollywood goodbye.”

Earlier this year, Ward appeared on an episode of Pod Meets World that got heated after Fishel brought up past slights between Ward and her costars.

Later, speaking with the New York Post, Ward claimed that the exchange was “orchestrated” to create drama. “I thought the show was winding down at that point,” she said. “And I think she wanted to catch me off guard. She wanted to try to rattle me, and she did. I didn’t expect it.”

Ethan Suplee (Frankie Stechino)

Ethan Suplee appeared on 19 episodes of Boy Meets World (1994–1998) as Frankie “the Enforcer” Stechino, a bully-turned-buddy of Cory and Shawn.

The role wasn’t meant to be a recurring one, Suplee revealed in a 2016 interview with The A.V. Club, but “then by the end of the first day they were talking about, ‘Hey, can you come back next week?'” When asked if his kids had seen the show and what they thought of his character, he shrugged, “They just think I’m a weirdo.”

Boy Meets World was Suplee’s first major role. The actor went on to appear in numerous Kevin Smith films (Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma), as well as the movies Remember the Titans (2000), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Babylon (2022), among many others.

He’s probably best known, however, as My Name Is Earl’s Randy Hickey, a role he played across all four seasons.

Blake Sennett (Joey “The Rat” Epstein)

Former Salute Your Shorts actor Blake Sennett appeared in the early seasons of Boy Meets World (as well as the season 5 finale) as bully Joey “the Rat” Epstein.

On a 2023 episode of Pod Meets World, Sennett fondly recalled his time off set with costar Suplee, with whom he would “talk philosophy and think we were cool… [it] was just kind of beautiful.”

He left the series after season 3 to focus on Rilo Kiley, the beloved indie outfit he formed alongside another child actor, Jenny Lewis. After releasing four LPs, Rilo Kiley split in 2013, allowing Sennett to focus on his side project, the Elected, and form a new band, Night Terrors of 1927.

This year, Rilo Kiley is reuniting for a North American tour.

William Daniels (George Feeny)

Emmy winner William Daniels — formerly of The Graduate (1967), Knight Rider (1982–1986), and St. Elsewhere (1982–1988) — starred in 148 episodes of Boy Meets World as George Feeny, Cory’s stern but warm-hearted teacher and neighbor. The actor, who recently turned 98, reprised the role for five episodes of Girl Meets World.

”People who are now parents write saying, ‘You helped me grow up. You helped me raise my family,’” Daniels told EW in 2013. ”That has been really gratifying.”

The cast spoke with PEOPLE about reuniting with Daniels ahead of his 96th birthday in 2023. “Ninety-five years old and he still shoots out the pearls of wisdom,” Friedle said. “His wife, Bonnie, as well. Talking to them is still magical.”

While Daniels could very well have retired following Boy Meets World, the actor continued appearing on episodes of hit series like Scrubs (2002) and The Closer (2006), as well as a five-episode arc on Grey’s Anatomy (2012).