Trivia: Began acting in commercials at age 5. Said he was inspired by his big brother, Fred Savage, to get into acting. Made his film debut at age 9 in Little Monsters (1989), which also starred Fred. Best known for playing Cory Matthews, the main character in ABC's hit series Boy Meets World, from 1993 to 2000. Interned for Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) in 2003. Is an avid Bruce Springsteen fan, and took a break from acting to follow Springsteen's tour around the country with his father. In November 2012, announced via Twitter that he and fellow Boy Meets World veteran Danielle Fishel were planning to be a part of a spin-off series. Volunteers for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Trivia: Best known to Gen-Y'ers as Shawn Hunter, the resident high-school heartthrob and best friend of teen Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) on the ABC Friday-night sitcom Boy Meets World (1993-2000), Rider Strong was born in San Francisco and entered show business with a portrayal of Gavroche in a local stage production of Les Miserables. He first moved into television work at age 12 as the son of Julie Andrews on the star's eponymous sitcom, Julie (1992), then landed guest-star bits on such programs as Evening Shade, Empty Nest, Davis Rules, and Going Places. World, of course, represented Strong's career breakthrough and secured a major fan base for him (particularly among teenage girls). As the series neared closure in the late '90s, Strong branched out into film roles -- first with a small part in the sentimental Billy Crystal comedy My Giant (1998), then as a horror star in such opuses as Cabin Fever (2002), Borderland (2007), and Cabin Fever 2 (2009). Strong later switched his focus to writing, directing and starring in short films. In 2014, Strong returned to his roots, reprising his role of Shawn Hunter on the Boy Meets World spin-off Girl Meets World.

Trivia: Actress Danielle Fishel grew up in Yorba Linda, CA, as the daughter of a medical equipment salesman, and entered the limelight at age ten with an appearance in a doll commercial. Continued involvement in show business beckoned, and under the aegis of her mother's management, she landed a string of guest spots on network sitcoms during the very early '90s, then signed on as one of the regular cast members on the situation comedy Boy Meets World (1993-2000). On that program, Fishel played Topanga Lawrence, teenage girlfriend and then wife of the lead character (Ben Savage). She remained with the series for all of its seven seasons, and netted viewer loyalty for helping to evolve the character from a head-in-the-clouds preteen hippie to a thoughtful and mature young woman.Fishel took her feature bow as a cheerleader in the 2000 crime picture Longshot (aka Jack of All Trades), then joined the casts of such outings as National Lampoon Presents: Dorm Daze (2003), Gamebox 1.0 (2004), and National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 (2006). Following a memorable appearance on The Tyra Banks Show in 2006, she became a special correspondent for the show. Her career on talk shows continued when she began hosting The Dish in 2008, a weekly show on the Style Network. Fishel returned to acting when Disney Channel announced, in 2012, plans for a spin-off to Boy Meets World called Girl Meets World.

Trivia: After starting out in TV commercials, his first job was as the co-host of Nickelodeon's 1988 show Don't Just Sit There at age 7. Was nominated for a 1995 Young Artist Award for his work on Boy Meets World. Has played Batman on four separate TV series: Batman of the Future (1999), Static Shock (2000), The Zeta Project (2001) and Justice League (2001). Was best man at Boy Meets World co-star Jason Marsden's 2004 wedding. Vocal acting extends to video game characters, voicing characters like Seifer Almasy in Kingdom Hearts II, Gideon Wyeth in Advent Rising and Jaster Rogue in Rogue Galaxy.

Trivia: A self-described "navy brat," William Russ travelled all over the country in his formative years. Russ settled down in one place long enough to attend the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; here he studied drama with such classmates as Christine Lahti. After graduation, he toured Europe as a member of the Ann Arbor mime troupe. Back in the states, he attended New York's Neighborhood Playhouse on a scholarship. His subsequent New York stage credits include MacBeth, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (in which he appeared with Al Pacino) and Buried Child. In films since 1989's Disorganized Crime, Russ' largest and most rewarding movie role (thus far) was over-the-hill ballplayer Roy Dean Bream in 1991's Pastime. Russ is best known to the public at large for his TV work: he has played Burt McCowan in Another World, Roger Lococco in Wiseguy, Redmond Dunne in Capitol News and Terry Hannon in The Middle Ages. At present, William Russ -- billed under his nickname "Rusty" -- appears on a weekly basis as Ben Savage's father on Boy Meets World, taking occasional time-outs to co-star in such made-for-TV movies as Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995).

Trivia: Though Charisma Carpenter refers to her first name as an "absolute curse" (it was derived from an ill-conceived Avon perfume line), it certainly hasn't proved detrimental to her career. Born in Las Vegas, NV, Carpenter had exhibited an interest in the performing arts by the age of five, when she began studying classical ballet. Though her family moved to Mexico in 1985, the fast-paced, entertainment-laden Las Vegas atmosphere had already had a profound effect on a then 15-year-old Charisma -- so much so that she embarked on an hour-long, daily commute to San Diego, where she attended the prestigious School of the Performing Arts.Carpenter had somewhat drastically changed her career plans after her graduation, when she moved to San Diego and took on a series of odd jobs, ranging from a video clerk to a member of the San Diego Chargers' cheerleading squad, in hopes of funding a college education. The non-aspiring actress was hoping to become an English teacher. To the eventual delight of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans nationwide, however, this wasn't to be. While waiting tables on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Carpenter was discovered by a commercial agent who promptly recommended she continue attending acting school. Her penchant for show business piqued once again, Carpenter decided to test her chops at the reputable Playhouse West, where she spent 18 months honing her skills. While there, Carpenter appeared in series of commercials, though her first true television role wouldn't occur until much later, in 1995, when she made a guest appearance on Baywatch.Seven long years after dedicating herself to acting, Carpenter managed to land a starring role on prime-time soap guru Aaron Spelling's Malibu Shores opposite Keri Russell. The show, however, was short-lived, and Carpenter was once again left with no solid job of which to speak, despite sporadic appearances on Boy Meets World and Pacific Blue. In 1997, Carpenter's agent found the then very much aspiring actress two separate auditions for a role the same show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a teen-oriented horror comedy series based on 1992's much less successful movie of the same name. One of the auditions was for Buffy, the intrepid vampire slayer, while the other was for Cordelia Chase, snooty high school student extraordinaire. As fate would have it, Sarah Michelle Gellar would win the part of Buffy, while Carpenter would ignite many an Internet fan site as Cordelia. So popular was her role that in 1999, when the Buffy spin-off Angel was launched, Carpenter was able to continue and expand the role.Though the series couldn't last forever, Carpenter continued to act after its cancellation. In 2004, she starred in What Boys Like, a sex comedy directed by Lawrence Gay, and played a reoccurring role in NBC's short-lived Alicia Silverstone vehicle Miss Match. Carpenter remained active the mid-2000s, and continued to find success playing characters with some sort of supernatural ability (as indicated by her appearances on the television shows Charmed and Supernatural). The actress played the girlfriend of a mercenary (Jason Statham) in 2010's The Expendables, and reprised the role for The Expendables 2 (2012). Off screen, Carpenter enjoys a variety of outdoor activities -- rock climbing, horseback riding, biking, and rollerblading, to name a few -- and spending time with her son.