Will Friedle is a skilled voice actor with a long list of credits, including Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond (who he hopes to return to play someday), Ron Stoppable in Kim Possible, and the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but Eric Matthews in Boy Meets World is still arguably his most well-known live-action role. Nearly 30 years after its 1993 launch, the ABC TGIF block sitcom is still popular among many of its original viewers and gaining a lot of new younger viewers. Friedle finds it “unbelievable” that Boy Meets World is still so popular after all these years.
Before our conversation came to an end, I asked Will Friedle how he felt about Boy Meets World still being so popular after all these years thanks to the show being available to stream with a Disney+ subscription and being introduced to younger people by the Girl Meets World spinoff that aired on Disneyland. We spoke about voicing Lex Luthor and Aquaman in the upcoming animated DC movie Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse. Friedle told me that he’d spoken about that subject the day before with some other Boy Meets World cast members, revealing:
It’s completely unbelievable, to put it mildly. In fact, Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and I were just talking about this same topic during lunch yesterday. We discussed how it’s still relevant, popular, and durable. And we feel incredibly pleased to have been a part of something that meant so much to so many individuals. Yes, it’s incredible. They are two of my closest friends, so being able to go with individuals who have contributed to your identity as well as something you are proud of is a very uncommon gift.
Boy Meets World featured Rider Strong and Danielle Fishel as Topanga Lawrence and Shawn Hunter, respectively. They made up the core group of the show’s younger ensemble, along with Eric Matthews (played by Will Friedle) and his brother Cory (played by Ben Savage). Boy Meets World, which ended in 2000 with the two-part finale “Brave New World,” continues to be adored by viewers of all ages, which is not simply a major deal for Friedle. He also appreciates how being a part of the show allowed him to develop strong bonds with Fishel, Strong, and the rest of the Boy Meets World ensemble that have lasted for more than 20 years. The value of those kinds of connections cannot be measured.
Will Friedle finished co-hosting the three-season Nickelodeon comedic discussion show Don’t Just Sit There! two years after Boy Meets World debuted. Eric Matthews initially played the usual older brother role to Cory and Morgan (played by Lily Nicksay in the first two seasons and Lindsay Ridgeway in the latter ones). He was also a popular student and naturally brilliant, but he didn’t put much effort into his academics. However, Eric evolved into a wackier and more insane character in Boy Meets World’s later seasons, becoming one of the program’s main sources of hilarious mischief. In the Girl Meets World spinoff’s episode “Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Goes to Washington,” Eric was elected as the new Senator from New York. Friedle later returned to the role for four episodes of Girl Meets World, revealing to fans that he had become mayor of St. Upidtown at some point after Boy Meets World.
It’s uncertain whether Will Friedle’s portrayal of Eric Matthews will ever appear again because Girl Meets World was cancelled in 2017 after only three seasons. But even if it never occurs, the actor is happy with both Boy Meets World’s ongoing appeal and the positive effects it has on his personal life. After reading this, you should be in the mood for Boy Meets World, so make sure to read what Friedle had to say at ’90s Con on how the show had originally intended to use Topanga.
