Will Friedle Shares Grim Reflection On Growing Up As A Child Actor: “You’ve Lived The First Line Of Your Obituary By The Time You’re 17”

The L Word star Leisha Hailey joined the cast of Boy Meets World on a recent episode of their podcast to discuss the memorable time she spent on the show as a guest star. As Hailey gushed over “how much fun” she had starring on the sitcom in front of a live studio audience, the former child stars candidly reflected on how growing up in that environment could have had a negative impact on them.

“I really think that what you had is the dream job,” Hailey told Boy Meets World stars Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel, and Rider Strong.

“I think so, too,” Friedle said. “There’s the joy of you rehearsing all week and you’re leading up to show night. Then the audience comes in, you feel the energy.” He added that it was “the greatest thing.”

After Hailey asked them how they managed to “get through that,” Fishel joked, “It’s been a rough 23 years.” But Friedle shared a rather genuinely grim reflection on what it’s like building a career after you’ve worked as a child actor, especially after experiencing performing in front of a live audience.

“We joke about it, but it’s easy to see how sitcom actors, especially young sitcom actors, fall into that unfortunate stereotype of drinking or drugs or going down the wrong path,” he said. “Because, as we’ve said so many times, Thursday night you’re somebody and you’re in front of an audience and Friday morning you’re not.”

He continued, “There are some shocks, but you could kind of tell the people that weren’t going to be able to transition as easily. It’s looking for that rush, that audience becomes a drug, and it’s literally gone in one day.”

Hailey then commented, “I never equated it to the rush of the audience, I always thought it must be an age thing. You know, just growing up and then: ‘Who am I?’”

But Friedle maintained that it’s hard to escape one’s reputation once you’ve made it big as a child actor.

“Well, there’s something interesting about knowing, chances are, you’ve lived the first line of your obituary by the time you’re 17,” he said. “You can go off and have a great life, a wonderful life, whatever you want to do, but chances are it’s going to say: ‘Will Friedle from Boy Meets World was killed today by a lion.'”

The Boy Meets World stars have been open about their experience as child actors dealing with creepy execs, manipulative colleagues, and poor working conditions, with Friedle and Strong opening up about their experience with Brian Peck, whom Drake Bell accused of sexual abuse in a new bombshell Nickelodeon doc, Quiet On Set.

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.