Fred Savage

Fred Savage
Fred Savage, as he appears in 1989's The Wizard
Born	Fredrick Aaron Savage July 9, 1976 (1976-07-09) (age 33) Glencoe, Illinois, U.S.A.
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Jennifer Lynn Stone

Fredrick Aaron "Fred" Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor, director and producer of television and film.

He is best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the television series The Wonder Years.

In later years, he has directed and produced numerous episodes of children's programs, such as Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Hannah Montana, and Phil of the Future, as well as the primetime series Ugly Betty and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. He has also appeared in Family Guy.

Personal life

Savage was born near Chicago, Illinois, the son of Joanne and Lewis Savage, a real estate broker.^[1] His brother is actor Ben Savage and his sister is actress/musician Kala Savage. His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, and Latvia, and Savage was raised as a Reform Jew.^[2]

In 1999, he graduated from Stanford University, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, with a degree in English. On August 7, 2004, Savage married Jennifer Lynn Stone. They have a son named Oliver, who was born on August 5, 2006, and a daughter, Lily Aerin Savage, who was born on May 3, 2008.^[3][4]

Acting career

Savage's first recorded performance was in the 1987 video Dinosaurs!. He then appeared onscreen in The Boy Who Could Fly and several television shows, including The Twilight Zone and Crime Story before gaining national attention as the grandson in the 1987 film The Princess Bride opposite Peter Falk.

In 1988, Savage appeared as Kevin Arnold on The Wonder Years, the role for which he is best known. His tenure in the show resulted in two Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; at the age of 13 he would be the youngest actor ever to receive these honors. He would remain on the show until it ended in 1993. During this period, he appeared in several movies, most notably Little Monsters, Vice Versa, and The Wizard. After The Wonder Years, Savage primarily did guest and supporting roles, such as the show Boy Meets World (which starred his brother Ben) and in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember as Number Three.

He has lent his voice to several animated projects, including Family Guy, Kim Possible, Justice League Unlimited, Oswald, and Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen. His two lead roles since The Wonder Years were on the short-lived sitcoms Working and Crumbs.

Savage appeared as a serial rapist on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and as a womanizing professor on Boy Meets World. He ranked at #27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.

In July 2008, Savage guest-starred in the web series The Rascal on Crackle.^[5]

Behind-the-scenes career

Beginning with episodes of Boy Meets World in 1999, Savage began a directing career in which he helmed episodes of over a dozen youth-oriented series. His credits include Drake & Josh and Ned's Declassified for Nickelodeon, as well as That's So Raven, Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place for the Disney Channel.

Besides directing several episodes, Savage co-produced the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future. In 2007, he was nominated for a Directors Guild award for the Phil episode "Not-So-Great-Great Grandpa".

More recently, he has served as a director for several episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Filmography

• The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) as Louis Michaelson
• Dinosaurs! - A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time! (1987)
• The Princess Bride (1987)
• Vice Versa (1988)
• The Wizard (1989) as Corey Woods
• Little Monsters (1989)
• No One Would Tell(1996) as Bobby Tennison
• A Guy Walks Into a Bar (1997)
• The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story (1998)
• The Rules of Attraction (2002)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• The Last Run (2004)
• Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

Acting credits: TV

• Morningstar/Eveningstar (1986–1987)
• Convicted: A Mother's Story (1987)
• Runaway Ralph (1988)
• Run Till You Fall (1988)
• The Wonder Years (1988–1993)
• When You Remember Me (1990)
• Christmas on Division Street (1991)
• Seinfeld ("The Trip") (1992)
• No One Would Tell (1996)
• How Do You Spell God? (1996)
• Working (1997)
• Area 52 (2001)
• Oswald (2001) (Animated-Voice of Oswald)
• Crumbs (2006)
• Holidaze: The Christmas that Almost Didn't Happen (2006)
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2007)
• Single White Millionaire (2008)
• Family Guy (2009)

Director

• Boy Meets World (1999–2000) 2 episodes
• All About Us (2001) 2 episodes
• Even Stevens (2001–2002) 2 episodes
• Drake & Josh (2004) 1 episode
• Kitchen Confidential (2005) 1 episode
• Zoey 101 (2005) 2 episodes
• What I Like About You (2005) 1 episode
• That's So Raven (2003–2005) 2 episodes
• Stephen's Life (2005) TV movie
• Unfabulous (2004–2005) 5 episodes
• Phil of the Future (2004–2006) 9 episodes
• Cavemen (2007) 1 episode
• Hannah Montana (2006–2007) 2 episodes
• Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004–2007) 6 episodes
• Daddy Day Camp (2007) Tristar Pictures
• Aliens in America (2007–2008) 4 episodes
• Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2008) 3 episodes
• Ugly Betty (2008) 1 episode
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2007–2009) 12 episodes
• Worst Week (2008) 1 episode
• Party Down (2009) 5 episodes
• Ruby & The Rockits (2009) 1 episode

References

Fred Savage recently directed the "Ruby And The Rockets" episode which aired 9-15-09 on the ABC Family Channel

External links

• Fred Savage at the Internet Movie Database
• Fred Savage at NNDB
• Fred Savage at TV.com
• World Poker Tour Profile
• eFilmCritic Interviews Fred Savage