Bennett Joseph "Ben" Savage is an American actor, producer, and director best known for his roles in Boy Meets World and its sequel Girl Meets World.
Biography[]
Savage was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 13, 1980, to Joanne and Lewis Savage. His brother is actor and director Fred Savage, while his sister is actress and musician Kala Savage. Savage and his siblings were raised in a Reform Jewish household. When he was nine years old, Savage made his film debut in his brother's hit Little Monsters. He also appeared in the feature films Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even and Clifford. Savage also debuted in theater in The Laughter Epidemic at the Pasadena Playhouse. He also guest-starred on his brother's TV series The Wonder Years. In television, however, Savage was most prominent. His first major role on network TV was playing the recurring role of Matthew on the comedy series Dear John. He then starred as an orphan in A Family For Joe.
Savage is probably best known for his role as the lead character Cory Matthews on the hit TV sitcom Boy Meets World, which ran from 1993 until 2000. He has also worked in several made-for-TV movies, including She Woke Up and McDonald's Family Theatre Presents: Aliens for Breakfast. Savage also received critical recognition for his portrayals of Coty Wyckoff, an angel-faced boy with the soul of a killer, in the TV series Wild Palms; and Roddy Stern in the play Unexpected Tenderness at the Marilyn Monroe Theater. For the latter role, he received an Ovation Award. In 2002, Savage starred in the film Swimming Upstream, in which he portrays Teddy Benevides, a slightly immature character who is very supportive towards his terminally-ill friend.
He eventually took a break from acting in both film and television for three years, but later made a guest-star appearance in Still Standing as Seth Cosella. That same year, he starred as Ford Davis in the indie film Car Babes, and also guest-starred as himself in an episode of the Disney Channel original series Phil of the Future. In 2006, he starred in the critically-acclaimed indie film Palo Alto, CA, which first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007. That same year, Savage starred in the ABC pilot of Making it Legal. The following year, he starred as Mark Ratner in an episode of the NBC-produced series Chuck, as well as murder suspect Kirby Morris in an episode of Without a Trace. In 2011, Savage appeared in an episode of the FOX-produced series Bones and also guest-starred on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up, in which he plays Andy Burns.
In November 2012, Savage announced on his Twitter account that he had signed on to the Boy Meets World spin-off series, Girl Meets World. The series premiered on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014; it features Savage's character Cory and his Boy Meets World love interest Topanga married in their adult years with two children. The series follows Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley as she enters middle school and tries to navigate through life. Besides being Riley's father, Cory is also her history teacher in this series. On August 6, 2014, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season. In his personal life, Savage had interned for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in 2003 as a requirement for completing his studies at Stanford University, where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in Political Science. He was also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity at the university.
On Criminal Minds[]
Savage portrayed the young Jason Gideon via flashbacks in the Season Ten episode "Nelson's Sparrow". He later reprised his role via visions in the Season Fifteen and series penultimate episode "Face Off".
Filmography[]
- Homeland (2020) - Young Saul
- Criminal Minds - 2 episodes (2015-2020) - Young Jason Gideon
- Speechless (2018) - Stuart
- Still the King- 4 episodes (2017) - Gene
- The Leftovers (2017) - Richard Zennile (uncredited)
- Girl Meets World- 72 episodes (2014-2017) - Cory Matthews/Self
- The Caterpillar's Kimono (2013) - Lincoln
- Girl Meets Boy (2013) - Scott
- Lake Effects (2012) - Carl
- Bones (2011) - Hugh Burnside
- Shake It Up! (2011) - Andy Burns
- Closing Time (2010) - Jared
- Without a Trace (2008) - Kirby Morris
- Chuck (2008) - Mark Ratner
- Making It Legal (2007) - Todd
- Palo Alto, CA (2007) - Patrick
- Car Babes (2006) - Ford Davis
- Phil of the Future (2005) - Ben Savage/Himself
- Still Standing (2005) - Seth Cosella
- Swimming Upstream (2002) - Teddy Benevides
- Boy Meets World - 158 episodes (1993-2000) - Cory Matthews/Various Others
- Adventures from the Book of Virtues (1998) - Jinkyswoitmaya (voice)
- ABC TGIF - 7 episodes (1993-1997) - Cory Matthews
- Party of Five - 2 episodes (1996) - Stuart
- Maybe This Time (1996) - Cory Matthews
- Aliens for Breakfast (1994) - Richard
- Clifford (1994) - Roger
- Wild Palms- 5 episodes (1993) - Coty Wyckoff
- She Woke Up (1992) - Andy
- Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1991) - Sam
- A Family for Joe - 9 episodes (1990) - Chris Bankston
- Hurricane Sam (1990) - Sam Kelvin
- Dear John - 5 episodes (1988-1990) - Matthew Lacey
- The Wonder Years (1990) - Curtis Hartsell
- Little Monsters (1989) - Eric
Director[]
- Girl Meets World- 10 episodes (2014-2016)
Producer[]
- Girl Meets World- 49 episodes (2015-2017) - Co-Producer
External Links[]
For an up-to-date filmography, see here.
Notes[]
- Savage, who portrays the young Gideon, has an indirect connection to Mandy Patinkin, the actor who portrayed the older Gideon during the show's first two seasons: his older brother Fred costarred with Patinkin in the 1987 film The Princess Bride.