Random Dark Stories From Behind-The-Scenes Of 'Boy Meets World' (17 items)

(#13) Rider Strong Hated Being A Teen Heartthrob

Rider Strong is Cory's best friend on the show, the lovable bad boy Shawn Hunter. Though Rider's role on the show quickly escalated him to teen heartthrob status, he was never comfortable with it and hated being in the spotlight.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Strong describes his fame as sort of unsettling:

Somehow it was me, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and a few other guys that were on safe shows, but our characters were relatively edgy. And while our characters weren't doing drugs or anything provocative, we were portrayed as angsty rebellious teenagers that teen girls went crazy for. It would just be weird to go somewhere and have groups of girls scream and hyperventilate in front of you.
(#2) Danielle Fishel Was The Second Choice For Topanga

It's tragic to think about Topanga as anyone other than Danielle Fishel, but the part was originally given to someone else. According to Fishel's memoir, Normally This Would Be Cause For Concern, the original actress was let go for being unable to follow directions. She wrote:

I remember David Trainer, our exceptionally gifted director for the first two seasons, giving her notes on how to improve her performance. She seemed to have trouble there. He’d give her a note telling her to change something, and she’d do it the exact same way again. I felt like a little kid in a classroom; I wanted to raise my hand and say, 'Can I try?' Even at twelve, I knew that was unprofessional, so I kept my mouth shut. On set the next day, she wasn’t there. They had let her go, and the executive producer, Michael Jacobs, needed to find a new girl to play Topanga.
Fishel landed the role after scoring a second audition.
(#17) Rider Strong Gave Adam Scott The Cold Shoulder And A Firm Shove

In January 2023, Adam Scott (who played the hallway-prowling bully Griff), joined Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle on the podcast Pod Meets World, where he revealed that during the Season 2 finale, he attempted offer Strong congratulations, but it didn't go as planned. As retold to Strong:
Literally, this has been tugging on me for 29 years… I'm like, ‘Hey, congratulations, buddy,' and I give you a high-five, and I go in and hug you. And, as I do that, you push me off. And you give me this look like, ‘Wait a second, who the f*ck are you?' And you run away.
Beside himself, Strong replies, “Why would I do that?!” He went on to acknowledge he had no memory of the incident.
The former cast members shared a good laugh, but it goes to show that emotions can ride high with TV teens.
(#1) Danielle Fishel Got A DUI

In 2007, seven years after Boy Meets World ended, Danielle Fishel was arrested for drunk driving. The arrest occurred in the wee hours of the morning in Newport Beach, CA.
(#4) Shawn's Sister Mysteriously Disappeared Because Of Another Cast Member Being Fired

It may seem kind of shocking for a character to completely disappear, but apparently, the writers of Boy Meets World flipped the script when they let another actor go. In the episode "Cory's Alternative Friends," Shawn calls up his sister Stacy. In later episodes, Shawn doesn't have a sister at all. So, what actually happened to her?
It's all because an actor got fired. Cory was meant to have another best friend in addition to Shawn. Once the actor who played Cory's other friend was fired, Rider Strong took that character's lines. That friend had a sister but it was later decided Shawn would not.
(#11) Fans Thought Mr. Turner Died In A Tragic Motorcycle Accident For More Than A Decade

In season four of Boy Meets World, Mr. Turner gets into a life-threatening motorcycle accident. Mr. Turner is never seen on screen again, and it's assumed he died. For what reason? Fans aren't really sure.
It turns out that Mr. Turner pulled through. In Girl Meets World, we find out that he actually lived and ended up having a daughter who appears on the spin-off.