Ben Savage
| Ben Savage | |
|---|---|
 Savage in June 2015 | |
| Born |
Bennett Joseph Savage September 13, 1980 Highland Park, Illinois, United States |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Occupation | Actor, Director |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Relatives |
Fred Savage (brother) Kala Savage (sister) |
Bennett Joseph "Ben" Savage (born September 13, 1980) is an American actor and television director. He is best known for his lead role as Cory Matthews on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World (1993–2000) and its Disney Channel spin-off series Girl Meets World (2014–present).
Early life
Savage was born in Highland Park, Illinois, the son of Joanne and Lewis Savage, who were an industrial real estate broker and a consultant.[1] His brother is actor/director Fred Savage, and his sister is actress/musician Kala Savage. His grandparents were Jewish and from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, and Latvia, and Savage was raised in Reform Judaism.[2]
Career
Savage made his film debut at the age of 9 in his brother Fred's hit Little Monsters (1989) and appeared in the feature films Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1992), as Sam, the brainy little brother, and as a 10-year-old in Clifford (1994), the latter starring Martin Short. Savage's stage debut was in The Laughter Epidemic at the Pasadena Playhouse. He also guest starred on his brother Fred's TV series The Wonder Years in the Valentine's Day episode.
His first major speaking role on network television was playing the recurring role of Matthew, son of the Judd Hirsch character, on the comedy series Dear John (1988). Then he was one of a family of orphans who con Robert Mitchum into being their guardian in A Family For Joe (NBC, 1990).
Savage is best known for his role as lead character Cory Matthews on the hit TV sitcom Boy Meets World from 1993 until 2000. Savage's brother Fred appeared alongside him in one episode of Boy Meets World, guest starring as a lecherous college professor pursuing Cory's girlfriend. In the following season, December 17, 1999, Fred directed his brother and the cast of Boy Meets World in the episode "Family Trees," as Shawn (Rider Strong) discovers that the woman who raised him is not his biological mother.
Ben has also worked in several TV-movies, including She Woke Up (1992) with Lindsay Wagner, and McDonald's Family Theatre Presents: Aliens for Breakfast (1995), as a young teen whose breakfast cereal figure comes alive.
Savage received critical recognition for his portrayal of "Coty Wyckoff", an angel-faced boy with the soul of a killer, in the ABC Event Series, Wild Palms (1993).[3]
In May 1998, Savage again received critical acclaim, this time for playing "Roddy Stern" in Tony Award-winner Israel Horovitz's rarely seen play Unexpected Tenderness at the Marilyn Monroe Theater. He received an Ovation Award for his performance.[4]
In 2002, Savage starred in the PG-13 film Swimming Upstream playing the best friend who was slightly immature but very supportive to his terminally ill friend.
Savage took a break from acting in both film and television for three years, but he later made a guest appearance in Still Standing as Seth Cosella, the boss of Bill Miller, played by Mark Addy. That same year he starred as Ford Davis in the independent feature Car Babes, which was shot on location in Los Gatos, California, and also guest starred as himself in an episode of the Disney Channel original series Phil of the Future.
In 2006, he starred in the critically acclaimed independent film Palo Alto, which first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007.[5]
In 2007, he starred in the ABC pilot from Sachs/Judah Making it Legal alongside Scott Wolf and Robert Wagner.
In 2008, he starred as Mark Ratner in an episode of the NBC series Chuck, as well as murder suspect 'Kirby Morris' in an episode of Without a Trace.
In 2011, he appeared in an episode of the Fox series Bones. He also guest starred on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up playing Andy Burns.
In November 2012, Savage announced via his Twitter account that he had signed on to the Boy Meets World spin-off series, Girl Meets World.[6] The series premiered on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014, and features Savage's character Cory and his Boy Meets World love interest Topanga (Danielle Fishel) married in their adult years with two children. The series follows Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley (Rowan Blanchard) as she enters middle school and tries to navigate through life. Besides being Riley's father, Cory is also her history teacher in this series; in addition to his on-screen role, Savage also directs some episodes of the series. On August 6, 2014 it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season. On November 25, 2015, the show was renewed for a third season.[7]
Personal life
Savage interned for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA at the time) in 2003 as a requirement for completing his studies at Stanford University, where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in Political Science and as a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.[8]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Little Monsters | Eric Stevenson | |
| 1992 | Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even | Sam | |
| 1994 | Clifford | Roger | |
| 2002 | Swimming Upstream | Teddy Benevides | |
| 2006 | Car Babes | Ford Davis | |
| 2007 | Palo Alto | Patrick | |
| 2010 | Closing Time | Jared | Short film |
| 2011 | Peace and Riot | Scott | |
| 2012 | White Dwarf | Ben | |
| 2012 | The Caterpillar's Kimono | Lincoln |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–1990 | Dear John | Matthew Lacey | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 1990 | Wonder Years, TheThe Wonder Years | Curtis Hartsell | Episode: "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" |
| 1990 | Family for Joe, AA Family for Joe | Chris Bankston | Main role, 9 episodes |
| 1990 | Hurricane Sam | Sam Kelvin | Television film |
| 1992 | She Woke Up | Andy | Television film |
| 1993 | Wild Palms | Coty Wyckoff | Miniseries |
| 1993–2000 | Boy Meets World | Cory Matthews | Lead role, 158 episodes |
| 1994 | Aliens for Breakfast | Television film | |
| 1996 | Maybe This Time | Cory Matthews | Episode: "Acting Out" |
| 1996 | Party of Five | Stuart | Episodes: "Close to You", "Christmas" |
| 1998 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Jinkyswoitmaya (voice) | Episode: "Determination"[9] |
| 2005 | Still Standing | Seth Cosella | Episode: "Still the Boss" |
| 2005 | Phil of the Future | Himself | Episode: "Time Release Capsule" |
| 2007 | Making It Legal | Todd | Television film |
| 2008 | Chuck | Mark Ratner | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Cougars" |
| 2008 | Without a Trace | Kirby Morris | Episode: "Cloudy with a Chance of Gettysburg" |
| 2011 | Shake It Up | Andy Burns | Episode: "Review It Up" |
| 2011 | Bones | Hugh Burnside | Episode: "The Male in the Mail" |
| 2012 | Lake Effects | Carl | Television film |
| 2014–present | Girl Meets World | Cory Matthews | Main role |
| 2015 | Criminal Minds | Young Jason Gideon | Episode: "Nelson's Sparrow" |
Awards and nominations
Film
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture | Little Monsters | Nominated |
Television
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Young Artist Awards | Best Youth Actor Leading Role in a Television Series | Boy Meets World | Nominated |
| 1997 | Best Performance in a TV Comedy: Leading Young Actor | Nominated | ||
| 1998 | Nominated | |||
| YoungStar Award | Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy TV Series | Nominated | ||
| 2000 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Television Friends | Won |
References
- ↑ "Fred Savage Biography (1976–)". Filmreference.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ↑ Shirley, Don (December 16, 2001). "LA Times: Theater; Not Just Acting Like an Adult; Fred Savage contemplates his roots – as a performer and a Jew – for 'Last Night of Ballyhoo". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ↑ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20106625,00.html
- ↑ http://www.juf.org/tweens/celebrity.aspx?id=419304
- ↑ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/palo-alto/
- ↑ http://tvline.com/2012/11/26/girl-meets-world-ben-savage-danielle-fishel/
- ↑ http://tvline.com/2015/11/25/girl-meets-world-season-3-renewed-disney-channel/
- ↑ Coutts, Anna (April 8, 2005). "What ever happened to... Ben Savage?". The Gazette (London, Ontario, Canada).
- ↑ "Determination". Adventures from the Book of Virtues. Season 2. Episode 2. February 22, 1998. PBS.
External links
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