Rider Strong, Will Friedle and Danielle Fishel Admit They ‘Didn’t Know’ They Were Cool at the Height of “Boy Meets World” and TGIF Fame (Exclusive)

Angela AndaloroThu, June 4, 2026 at 3:49 PM UTC

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Rider Strong, Ben Savage, Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel and Matthew Lawrence on "Boy Meets World" in 1997Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty -

Boy Meets World dominated throughout its time on ABC's TGIF block, only experiencing a decline in viewership during the show's final season

Rider Strong, Will Friedle and Danielle Fishel tell PEOPLE that despite their popularity, they had no idea the show meant so much to so many

Ahead of their new documentary, Doc Meets World, the trio of actors talk about how fan interactions helped drive the show's influence and impact home for them

Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle and Rider Strong never felt "cool."

It may be surprising to learn that the three stars at the center of Boy Meets World didn't recognize what a force the coming-of-age comedy was, but that's what they shared with PEOPLE when looking back at their journey together and discussing their new documentary, Doc Meets World, debuting at Tribeca on Friday, June 5.

Of the surprises they've been doled by the podcast's guests since its inception in 2022, Friedle tells PEOPLE, "Some of the stories I've heard from people that were gracious enough to come on our podcast, that were very big personalities or actors, somebody like Kathy Ireland or something like that, where you hear how nervous they were."

"That was always interesting to me, because again, you see these people that are larger than life that have been in the entertainment industry for a long time, and they say, 'Oh man, walking onto your set, I was terrified. And I heard the audience going nuts,' " Friedle continued.

Danielle Fishel, Ben Savage, Rider Strong and Will Friedle in 1996Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

"I'm always so surprised at the human aspect of celebrity," the 49-year-old said. "Because you look at some of these people and you've worshiped them for years, some of these older television actors or film actors that they brought on our show, and to have them come on and be like, 'Oh God, I was terrified. I was in my trailer. I didn't want to come out.' Stuff like that is always amazing to me."

Strong offered another example, sharing, "They were only a couple years older, but Adam Scott and Ethan Suplee both expressed feeling— because it was like a very early job for them in their late teens, early 20s. For Ethan, it was his first acting job. And it's just so funny because we were kids. We thought they were fully grown-ups who knew everything."

The 46-year-old continued, "To have them come on the podcast and be like, 'You guys were the establishment, and we were the outsiders trying to fit in.' And we're like, 'What? You were all the cool older kids. What are you talking about?' So that was just such a weird mind flip."

Fishel added, "I always ask when we do the podcast, like, 'Before you had the audition, had you ever heard of Boy Meets World? Had you ever seen an episode?' And even if they hadn't seen an episode, they were like, 'But of course I knew it. You guys were cool.' And I'm always like, 'We were? We were? We didn't feel cool.' We did not ever feel cool."

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"Still don't," Friedle confirmed.

Fishel corrected, "Well, we're not now. We were cool… We didn't even know it then."

Trina McGee-Davis, Rider Strong, Maitland Ward, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Matthew Lawrence and Ben SavageCredit: James Sorensen/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Discussing connecting with their fans now, through both their recent tour and convention events, the three actors explained how much depth it has added to their experience creating the show and appreciating the work they produced.

"I started the convention circuit first in 2014. I was never big in social media, so this was real contact with the fans," Friedle revealed. "This was shaking hands, hugging, taking pictures — I mean, it was very personal. And story after story after story is. 'You were my childhood.  You got me through some awful times. I don't know where I would be without this show.' It showed an impact that we, I'll speak for all of us, were unaware of."

Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Will Friedle in 2022Credit: MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty

For his part, Strong added, "Doing the conventions and then podcasting has just been such a process of acceptance for me — acceptance of myself and my career, and really just coming to appreciate the incredible opportunity that Boy Meets World gave to me and to not run away from it."

Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel and Rider Strong in 2023Credit: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty

"I see its significance, I see its importance and I see how it is special," Fishel, 45, adds of the beloved '90s series. "And I'm grateful to all those people who spent their time coming up and telling us that. Because I think without that, it would never have given Rider the idea for us to do this. And it turned into what it turned into."

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Doc Meets World makes its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, June 6.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”