The Wonder Years cast: Where are they now?
What ever happened to Fred Savage, Danica McKellar, and more? Find out if Paul really became Marilyn Manson.
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As the Years go by
If you're talking classic coming-of-age sitcoms, you've got to mention The Wonder Years, which ran on ABC from 1988 to 1993. The hilarious and often heart-wrenching show followed Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) as he grew up in the late-'60s and early-'70s, all while navigating his love for the girl next door Winnie (Danica McKellar), and dealing with the older brother we loved to hate, Wayne (Jason Hervey).
The Wonder Years was such a fan favorite, it was rebooted in 2021 on ABC. This time, The Wonder Years centers on a Black family in Montgomery, Ala., in the late-'60s. Just like in the original series, an older protagonist (Don Cheadle) narrates the adventures of his younger self (Elisha "EJ" Williams).
Let's take a look at what the original cast members are up to!
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Fred Savage (Kevin Arnold)
Following The Wonder Years, Savage guest-starred on a number of TV shows and in many movies, including Boy Meets World (alongside his brother Ben Savage) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). He also lent his voice to several animated shows, even voicing himself on Family Guy. Savage went behind the camera to produce and direct episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Party Down.
In 2015, he also appeared in the short-lived Fox show The Grinder, alongside Rob Lowe. While he didn't wed Winnie Copper, Savage did marry his childhood friend, Jennifer Lynn Stone. The couple has three children together.
In 2021, Savage served as the executive producer and director of The Wonder Years reboot but he was terminated from the show completely in May 2022 for "verbal outbursts" and "inappropriate behavior." Unfortunately, these aren't the first allegations brought up against Savage — he apparently faced misconduct accusations from crew members on The Wonder Years and The Grinder.
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Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper)
After Kevin and Winnie's final summer, McKellar went to UCLA and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Armed with a passion for fractions, McKellar has written a whopping 11 math-related books(!) that are aimed at encouraging absolutely everyone (especially girls), from infancy to adulthood, to love math. On television, the actress had a recurring role on The West Wing and has also appeared on How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and Dancing With the Stars.
In 2015, McKellar starred on Project Mc2 on Netflix, a comedy series about four girls using their knowledge of science to help save the world, and we love that McKellar is always championing smart girls and women. McKellar is also the low-key queen of Hallmark Christmas movies. You may have seen her in Perfect Match (2015) or Crown for Christmas (2015). She married attorney Scott Sveslosky in 2014 and has one child from a previous marriage.
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Josh Saviano (Paul Pfeiffer)
Contrary to the rumors, Kevin's neighbor and resolute best friend did not grow up to be Marilyn Manson. Instead, he traded his glasses for a suit and tie. Josh Saviano attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is currently a working attorney. In 2015, the then-39-year-old launched a law firm and celebrity brand consultancy.
But, don't worry, Saviano didn't turn his back on acting entirely. He returned to TV in 2014, where he used his real-life skills to play a lawyer on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, reprising the role in 2015 and 2016.
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Jason Hervey (Wayne Arnold)
Hervey spent years taunting Kevin Arnold as his older brother Wayne, but then he took a step back from the spotlight. After The Wonder Years, the former child star lent his voice to several animated characters — he and Savage even played brothers again in the animated series Justice League Unlimited.
Other than voice acting, Hervey has mostly spent time behind the camera, producing sports specials for World Championship Wrestling and TV shows like See Dad Run, Hardcore Pawn: Chicago, and Outlaw Country. Hervey was also a contributor on VH1's I Love the '80s and I Love the '80s Strikes Back. He returned to acting with the 2021 Hallmark TV movie You, Me & the Christmas Trees.
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Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold)
There was a little bit of everyone's dad in Dan Lauria's often curmudgeonly patriarch. The actor went on to bring this signature gruffness to other roles, most notably the part of Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi in the Broadway play Lombardi back in 2011.
Lauria has also appeared on a number of television shows since The Wonder Years, including How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, The Mentalist, and This Is Us. You might've seen him as Jack Sullivan in the TBS comedy Sullivan & Son, which ran from 2012 to 2014.
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Alley Mills (Norma Arnold)
Mama Arnold didn't stop acting when the kids moved out. In 1993, after The Wonder Years ended, Alley Mills landed a recurring role on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. She has an impressive television repertoire — you may have seen her on TV shows like NYPD Blue; Yes, Dear; and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Mills was a regular on The Bold and the Beautiful from 2006 to 2022, playing sister to the family matriarch, Pamela Douglas, before taking on the role of Heather Webber on General Hospital.
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Olivia d'Abo (Karen Arnold)
The free spirit of the family has flitted all across the entertainment world. Since 1993, Olivia d'Abo has voiced numerous animated characters, including Jane Porter on the 2001 show The Legend of Tarzan. She's guest-starred on tons of popular TV shows as well, like Psych, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Jane the Virgin. She has voiced the role of Luminara Unduli across numerous Star Wars movies and shows.
D'Abo even performed on Broadway in 2005 in The Odd Couple with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. She's proven herself as a true multi-hyphenate in the entertainment industry (actor-singer-songwriter), releasing her debut album Not TV in 2008.
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Daniel Stern (The Narrator)
It's hard to believe Home Alone's "Wet Bandit" was the subdued future voice of Kevin Arnold, but Stern is a versatile man. Instead of robbing houses and harassing Macaulay Culkin, Stern has dedicated his life to good deeds. In 1999, he and his wife founded the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families. Stern has also developed and taught media literacy in classrooms and visited the troops in Iraq on a Handshake Tour with the USO. All these thoughtful deeds earned Stern the "Call to Service Award," the highest honor for volunteerism, from President Barack Obama in 2009.
Good deeds aren't the only thing Stern has been doing. He's continued to produce and act in movies, starring in the 2019 film Game Over, Man alongside the Workaholics gang Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Blake Anderson. Stern also kept up with voice acting on plenty of TV shows like Hey Arnold!, Family Guy, and Dilbert, with live-action roles on Manhattan, Shrill, and For All Mankind.
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Giovanni Ribisi (Jeff Billings)
You may recognize Giovanni Ribisi as the creepy guy from almost any Seth MacFarlane movie (Ted, A Million Ways to Die in the West) or as Phoebe Buffay's younger half-brother on Friends, but, before all that, he played Kevin Arnold's good friend in his teenage years.
Along with his previously mentioned roles, the actor also appeared in Lost in Translation (2003), Public Enemies (2009), Avatar (2009), Selma (2014), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Prominent TV credits include My Name Is Earl, Dads, Sneaky Pete, and The Offer. He married model Agyness Deyn in June 2012; they filed for divorce in early 2015.
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Ben Stein (Mr. Cantwell)
Aside from constantly fighting the good fight against dry eyes, Kevin's former science teacher, Mr. Cantwell, is a real-life lawyer and media personality. Ben Stein has focused his career on politics and the economy. He regularly appeared on CNBC's The Kudlow Report and writes commentaries — often controversial — on everything from terrorism to taxes for publications like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Of course, Stein is famous for his dry delivery — which he has kept alive in pop culture through roles like Head Pixie on the animated show The Fairly OddParents and as host of his own show on Comedy Central, Win Ben Stein's Money.
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Robert Picardo (Coach Cutlip)
Comic-Con connoisseurs probably know Robert Picardo as an Emergency Medical Hologram from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, a role he played from 1995 to 2001. The actor also appeared on the series Stargate: Atlantis.
Back on Earth, he's appeared in episodes of tons of popular shows like Ally McBeal, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Mentalist, Grey's Anatomy, and Dickinson. Picardo's talents extend beyond the screen, too. He is a talented singer, and he currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Planetary Society.