Fred Savage
That's the whole reason I got into acting: I don't do this like some grown-ups have to do it, because they have families, and they have to make money. It's not my job. My dad works to support our family. So I just do it for fun.
The persona of 'The Wonder Years' is something that's going to be with me forever. And I'm happy for that. It's nothing that I'd ever shy away from, and it makes me feel so good that it's something people still remember and talk about it and think of it so fondly.
I think we all have a little dark side we keep under wraps.
I am an English major in school with an emphasis in creative writing. I think hearing Maya Angelou speak at school last year was one of the best moments Stanford, at least, intellectually, had to offer.
I love to unwind and watch movies, especially those from the classic black-and-white era.
I think it is important to maintain a sense of self and confidence, not letting either falter for the sake of a particular part or project, no matter how great it might be.
I think Kellie Martin, Reese Witherspoon and Claire Danes represent the future for women in film, and I would be honored to share the stage with any one of them.
I would suggest maintaining a life and a career outside the Industry. This is a fickle business and a lousy one to make a steady living in, so it's important to have a good family, friends, job and education to fall back on.
I'd like to see myself married with a child and hopefully still involved in the entertainment business as an actor who is also able to write a bit and direct some projects.
I'd like to work with any actress from whom I can learn-one who has had many experiences with many directors and is willing to share some of her knowledge with me.
It is unfortunate that the poor judgment shown by a small group of young actors has tarnished the reputation of every child who has ever appeared before a camera.
Now that I'm taking some time off from school, I've been reading a lot to make sure I don't forget everything. It's mostly classics and nonfiction accounts from actors, directors and writers from the '40s and '50s.
The only thing that frightens me a little is when I'm called Kevin rather than Fred, but that's how people have known me for so many years. So, I can't really blame them.
The term papers make me more crazy, because they involve more variables I cannot directly control! With acting, I feel more power-like I'm making all the choices.
I promised to always bring up a glass of water to her before we go to bed, and she promised to never let me dress myself.
It's hard to sleep at night because I'm still wondering where my mother is.
Other acting opportunities had come along, but nothing that was tantalizing enough to me to step away from what I found most interesting.
I always feel bad when people ask me questions. I always felt that I was a terrible interview because I don't have any problems with anyone, and I don't have a terrible past. Or I don't have any terrible problems to talk about that would make interesting articles.
As soon as it stops being fun, then I'll stop acting.
Whether it's 1970, 1990, or 2010, kids will be going through the same experiences.
Once you stop thinking about the minutiae of what each part might mean for your career, you learn that if you do a good performance, it's going to be good for you. The work is what matters.
I think if you have a series for a long time, it's in some ways like being in a play with a long run - in that the character stays the same - and so you are constantly posed with the challenge of making it interesting and unique week after week, year after year.
Looking back at the 'Wonder Years,' I see things I did well, and I see things I did very, very badly.
I wasn't some sort of ingenue. I always saw myself as a lifer in this industry, and working as an actor on 'Wonder Years' was a first act.
I love how restaurants work. The energy, the pace, and the idea of working under budgetary restraints reminds me a lot of sets.
Some people look at TV as a means to an end. I look at it as my career - and one I love.
Ultimately, a director is a storyteller. I wanted to fortify that part of my life as a director, so I thought the best way to do that is to study and learn about the greatest stories ever written.
I think now I've established myself as a director, but starting out, I'd be foolish to think that every opportunity that came after 'The Wonder Years' didn't stem from 'The Wonder Years.' So I owe so much of everything for that show.
The move into adult comedy wasn't so much moving away from 'The Wonder Years' as expanding myself as a director.
Directing is literally what I've always wanted to do, ever since I was a kid. So I love the career I've built behind the camera.
Going to directing wasn't a reaction away from acting as much as it was a move towards something I always wanted to do. Ever since I was a kid, I was interested in the camera and how it worked and why one director would place it in this part of the room and then another would place it in that part of the room.
Really, anyone in the business who transitions into directing as a writer or editor or an actor or a cinematographer, at some point you have to kind of take a leap and say, 'I'm committed to this.'
I was never really aware of being famous. Being in a magazine or on a billboard - that really didn't register to me at all when I was younger. People would come up to me and recognize me, but I was very fortunate in that people were always so warm.
I don't think that being an actor or being a performer at a young age leads to failures as an adult. There's a lot more success stories than I think people recognize.
I appreciate everything. I built my career from very humble beginnings. Every job I've had, every next rung on the ladder, I appreciate because I know where it started - I started doing Pac-Man vitamin commercials.
Everything I've jumped into and tried and every experience I've had and career opportunity, including going to 'The Grinder,' it was just because it sounded exciting and fun and new and different.
I was always very interested in the storytelling decisions that went into directing. It just held this real allure for me. You know, if we're doing a scene at a dinner table, they weren't all shot the same. 'Why was the camera here for one moment and there for another?'
I don't really spend a lot of time discounting the things I'm doing in hopes that I could be doing something else.
You can still have a very productive, crime-free life when you're growing up in show business.
I have been working in the entertainment industry my whole life and have always endeavored to treat everyone on any set I work on respectfully and professionally.
I think a lot of longevity, especially as a performer, depends on kind of what your commodity is. If your commodity is your cuteness and your chubby cheeks and your big gap between your teeth, if that's what your greatest asset is, of course that fails or that changes, you know, that goes away. Of course that fades.Collection: Thinking
As a consumer of entertainment, as a director, I'm always interested in questions of identity and who someone is and how they're perceived and who they are versus who they thought they'd be.Collection: Identity
I was never an ingénue at any point in my career. I was hoping that whatever I was bringing to the table, it wasn't some physical attribute that would change or fade over time.Collection: Careers
Children leave. And parents stay behind. Still, some things are deeper than time and distance. And your father will always be your father. And he will always leave a light on for you.Collection: Love
Now that I'm taking some time off from school, I've been reading a lot to make sure I don't forget everything. It's mostly classics and nonfiction accounts from actors, directors and writers from the '40s and '50sCollection: Reading
Maybe part of loving is learning to let go.Collection: Love
I knew I wanted to direct since I was a kid. That was something I was always fascinated by and wanted to experience and see if I would be any good at it.Collection: Kids