Danielle Fishel Remembers Cutting Her Own Hair on an Episode of “Boy Meets World”: 'I Was Thrilled'
On the ‘Pod Meets World’ podcast, Fishel said that despite her enthusiasm, filming the scene was “intense”
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Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Ben Savage in 'Boy Meets World' in 1996Danielle Fishel says cutting her own hair in an episode of Boy Meets World was “intense.”
On the most recent episode of rewatch podcast Pod Meets World, Fishel and co-hosts Rider Strong and Will Friedle were joined by Jeff McCracken, the director of every episode of the ’90s sitcom’s fourth season. During their conversation, Fishel, 43, revealed that the season’s second episode, 1996’s “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow,” is one of her favorites.
The episode in question features a scene in which her character, Topanga, impulsively chops off several inches of her cascading locks to prove “that physical appearance is secondary to inner beauty” to boyfriend Cory (Ben Savage).
Fishel said that filming the scene made for a “very high-pressure day.”
“I remember you being extraordinarily nervous,” McCracken recalled. “You were professional, obviously, and I knew you were gonna be fine, but, you know, we had one shot.”
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Danielle Fishel in 'Boy Meets World' in 1996Related: Meet the Real-Life Loves and Growing Kids of the Boy Meets World Cast
“Everyone's on pins and needles,” he continued, adding that he thought the scream Fishel let out when her character sees what she’s done to her hair in a mirror was real.
Fishel, however, said that cutting her own hair wasn’t the issue. “Everyone was so sure that I was really scared about cutting my hair, but the truth is, I was thrilled to cut it,” she explained
“I remember you wanted to cut it the whole week,” Friedle chimed in. “You were like, ‘I can't wait to cut my hair.’ ”
“I had wanted to do it all summer,” Fishel added. “The reason we did the episode is because I had called [series creator Michael Jacobs] the beginning of summer and said, 'I wanna cut my hair. Can I cut it?' And he said, ‘At least let me write an episode for it.’ So, I had to wait all summer. So, by the time we got to it, I had been ready to cut my hair for months.”
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Danielle Fishel, Ben Savage and Rider Strong in 'Boy Meets World' in 1996Related: The Cast of Boy Meets World: Where Are They Now?
The issue, she explained, was doing it on camera in one take. Fishel went on to describe the very detailed process of getting the scene just right, which involved faking the chop several times, with McCracken yelling “Stop!” at her just before the fateful snip.
“But then, the way I was gonna know if I could cut it, you weren't gonna yell stop,” she recalled. “And then when I'm supposed to, it's just quiet, and I'm like, ‘For real? For real? For real? Because I'm gonna do it now.’ ”
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Fishel also remembered negotiating with Jacobs over just how much hair she would cut off. “I remember Michael coming out and going, ‘Show me where you're gonna cut. Show me. Show me where.’ … Because he did not want it to be too short. And he knew I had control because I was gonna be the one with the scissors. So, he wanted to know.”
“I wanted it a little shorter. I knew he wanted it a little longer. And so, yes, it was a very intense day,” she added.
Luckily, it all worked out, with Fishel avoiding a regrettable Felicity situation!
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