If you were a kid growing up in the late 80s and early 90s Wonder Years must have been a large part of your life. The show spanned for six seasons in the five-year time frame starting in 1988 and ending in 1993. It was an excellent drama, that was set some twenty years before the show broadcasting. The main character was a teenager named Kevin Arnold. The rest of the young crew was consisting of his best friend Paul Pfeiffer and neighbor and love interest Gwendolyn ‘Winnie’ Cooper.
In this article, we are going to focus on the actors that played those three kids back in the day. They are Fred Savage, Danica McKellar, and Josh Saviano. The show was abruptly ended as the productivity house deemed the actors too old to continue this coming-of-age teenage drama. But, for its short run, it left quite an impression on all of us who followed it some thirty years ago. So, walk with us down memory lane and see how these three actors look today and what they have been up to. We’ll start with Kevin Arnold played by Fred Savage.
Kevin Arnold – Fred Savage
The interesting part about this actor and his character is the part of adult Kevin. Many scenes had a voice-over of Adult Arnold and in charge of that was Daniel Stern, who you might know from such movies as Home Alone. But, the main character after all was played by Fred Savage and he did one heck of a job. In the show, he’s stationed in a home with his mother and father, Jack and Norma, and his two siblings, Wayne and Karen.
Before becoming the main character in Wonder Years he appeared in a movie titled The Princess Bride. But, do you know what’s he up to now? The time-skip in the show showed him happily married some twenty years later, having a wife and son. Unfortunately, he didn’t marry Winnie. But, how his real-life went?
He had a stellar start to his career being nominated for Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award before even turning thirteen years old. Only a few years later he starred in a comedy named Vice Versa. Later he continued his path in Hollywood as a director signing under such products as Daddy Day Camp. His most recent works include acting roles in the TV show The Grinder and Friends from College. You’ll be glad to hear that he’s the executive producer for the reboot of the show that made him a star.
Gwendolyn ‘Winnie’ Cooper – Danica McKellar
While a happy and careless girl in the TV show she had a less than stellar childhood. During her youth and years spent on Wonder Years, her parents divorced and her little brother lost his life which was one of the reasons for her parents splitting up. But, years later we can say at least she has her life sorted out and is on a good path. In the show, she didn’t marry Kevin but instead went to Paris to pursue a diploma in History before her eventual return to the US.
As far as her career went, she didn’t do a lot of acting before the Wonder Years, with only appearing on a few episodes of Twilight Zone. But after this popular TV show, she had many roles credited to her name. To name just a few take a look at Hip, Edgy, Sexy, Cool, Speechless…, and Reality School. The most interesting part about her is that academically she pursued a career in mathematics. On the subject of math, she wrote numerous books. If you are interested in her work please read Math Doesn’t Suck, Kiss My Math, Hot X: Algebra Exposed and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape.
Paul Pfeiffer – Josh Saviano
Paul Pfeiffer was an ideal sidekick for a boy growing up and fighting life obstacles. He was loyal, reliable, clever, smart, hardworking, but shy to commit and create bonds. But, as the show went on they easily became one of the most lovable characters. In the show-closing episode, it was shown that Paul made it up to Harvard and became a lawyer in the process. Interestingly it is not too far from what transpired in real life.
Josh Saviano didn’t pursue a career in acting once Wonder Years run ended. Instead, he dedicated his cause to be a layer in New York. Before becoming one he finished schooling at Yale University where he majored in political science. His only recurring role since 1993 was the one of a lawyer in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit between 2014 and 2016 where he played a character named Don Taft.
Nina Smith