The actor also remembered how she inspired him when he was directing episodes of the sitcom that included original music
Credit: Tony Rivetti/Disney Channel
NEED TO KNOW
- Rider Strong recalled working with Sabrina Carpenter on Girl Meets World at the Tribeca Festival premiere of Doc Meets World
- “It was probably one of the best acting relationships I’ve ever had,” he said during a post-screening conversation with his former costars Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle
- Girl Meets World aired on the Disney Channel from 2014 to 2017
Rider Strong had a before-she-was-mega-famous connection to pop star Sabrina Carpenter, courtesy of the Disney Channel sitcom Girl Meets World.
The 46-year-old actor recalled working with Carpenter on the Boy Meets World spin-off at the Tribeca Festival premiere of the new documentary Doc Meets World in New York City.
During a post-screening conversation with his former Boy Meets World costars Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle, Strong admitted that he only agreed to reprise his role as Shawn Hunter on Girl Meets World because he wanted to get into the Directors Guild of America. So he met with Michael Jacobs, who co-created Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World, and made an offer.
"Michael took me and my wife out to dinner with his wife to woo me, and I had already written a blog publicly saying I would never do Girl Meets World. But what had happened is my brother and I were pitching projects as directors, and I realized I wanted to get into the DGA. I told Michael at that dinner, I just said, ‘I will come do some episodes if you let me direct,' " Strong explained.
Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty
Jacobs agreed to the idea and suggested that Strong appear in two episodes per season. “And then he let me direct a bunch, and it worked out great. I really enjoyed the directing way more than I enjoyed the acting,” he said.
Strong ultimately appeared in two episodes of seasons 1 and 2, and three episodes of season 3.
The reboot aired from 2014 to 2017 and took place several years after the original series. It followed Riley Matthews (Rowan Blanchard), the teenage daughter of Fishel’s Topanga Lawrence and Ben Savage’s Cory Matthews.
Fishel and Savage also reprised their roles, as did Friedle and several others from the original series.
Carpenter played Riley’s friend Maya, and Shawn ended up in a relationship with her mom.
Strong recalled the “Espresso” singer being “unbelievable” on set.
“It was probably one of the best acting relationships I've ever had. It was such a great dynamic,” he said.
Credit: Tony Rivetti/Disney Channel via Getty
Strong remembered Carpenter being an inspiration when he was directing episodes that included original music.
“I directed a couple episodes with music and where she would sing, and she came to the table read and it would just be lyrics in the script. They didn't have a song yet. And she would spontaneously sing a song. Ray Colcord, rest in peace, was the composer. I met with him afterwards and he’d be like, ‘I just wrote down what she did,’ and the way they wrote the song was based on her singing at the table,” Strong said.
“She was just perfect every time,” Strong added.
Fishel previously spoke about her lasting bond with Carpenter after their work on the Disney Channel series.
"Sabrina gives me great advice," Fishel, 45, told PEOPLE in April. "For being significantly younger than me, she is one of my go-to people to ask for advice because she's got great instincts. She knows how to trust them, and I admire that so much because I'm a person who's talked myself out of my instincts over the years.”
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In Doc Meets World, Fishel, Friedle, 49, and Strong reflect on starring on Boy Meets World and their experiences with fame at an early age. The 84-minute documentary follows the trio as they reunite for their hit rewatch podcast, Pod Meets World, and embark on a national tour.
Doc Meets World premiered at Tribeca Festival on June 6.
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