The coming-of-age show The Wonder Years made its debut in 1988, and its depiction of the highs and lows of adolescence led to it becoming classic television. The show follows Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage), his best friend Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano), and Kevin’s crush Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar) through their teen years in the '60s. After the show ended in 1993, Savage and McKellar continued acting, but Saviano did not. His stepping away from the industry ended up leading to one of the first celebrity rumors to circulate on the internet: that Saviano had disappeared into a new life as heavily made up rock musician Marilyn Manson. The urban legend was thoroughly debunked decades ago, and the reality is that Saviano chose a much more buttoned-up career. To find out what the Wonder Years actor is doing now and to hear about his life as a child star, read on.
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The Wonder Years wasn't his only role, but it's still his most famous.
Bettmann / Getty ImagesBack in 1987, Saviano got the part of Paul in The Wonder Years the day after he auditioned. "I read through the script for the pilot and thought, 'This is cool,'" he told The New York Times in 1991.
He also told the NYT that it meant a lot to him to know how important his character—a nerdy but loyal straight-A student—was to the show's fans. "I can't tell you how many people stop me on the street and say, 'Hey, I was just like that,' or 'I have a friend just like him,'" the young actor added. "People can relate to him. And that's good to hear. It means I'm doing my job."
In addition to the series, Saviano appeared in the 1988 comedy movie The Wrong Guys. He also guested on the series The Ray Bradbury Theater in 1989 and was in the 1990 TV movie Camp Cucamonga.
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He became a lawyer, just like his character.
Niki/Getty Images for Saks Fifth AvenueThe series finale of The Wonder Years reveals that Paul eventually went to Harvard University and became a lawyer. And Saviano, now 45, followed a similar path, getting his bachelor's degree at Yale University in 1998 and graduating from Cardozo School of Law in 2003. A corporate and intellectual property transitional attorney, the former actor founded Act 3 Advisers in 2015. He works specifically with artists and entrepreneurs who want to brand their businesses, showing that he hasn't completely cut ties with his show business roots.
Saviano is also president of the Spotlight Advisory Group, Inc, which he co-founded in 2018. The company's goal is to help artists, entertainers, and other creatives cultivate their work to "its highest potential, so that they can bring their creative vision to life and make their greatest impact on the world."
In the '10s, Saviano combined his two careers when he guested on three episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. That's the only acting he's done since the early '90s.
His actual life trajectory is about as far as you can get from that persistent internet rumor. Fortunately, Saviano had fun with it instead of taking offense.
"I had no idea who [Manson] was at the time," he told Yahoo!'s The Yo Show in 2013 of learning about the theory in college. "So I'd spoke to one of my friends at school who did know who he was. It became a progressively more entertaining storyline amongst me and my friends." Saviano and his buddies even came up with a scheme to dispel the conspiracy theory: When Manson played a show near their school, Saviano would join him onstage. But they didn't end up going through with it. (In recent years, Manson has been accused by several former partners of sexual assault. He denies their claims.)
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Saviano liked acting because he could “connect with other people.”
Lars Niki/Getty Images for Saks Fifth AvenueSaviano didn't leave the industry because he had a negative experience. He has fond memories of his acting days, specifically on The Wonder Years. Speaking at The Wonder Years Reunion Event at The 92nd Street Y in 2015, he said that he "connected with other people" as an actor, which was one of the best parts of the job.
"The fact that there was another character that I could kind of hide in, or be part of, really was liberating, and I loved that. The thing that that I fed off of was the reaction of other people," he said. "The wonderful feeling of entertaining someone, of making them stop and enjoy a moment that was because of me, is priceless."
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He has a 14-year-old daughter.
Jim Spellman/Getty ImagesSaviano married his wife, Jennifer Saviano, in 2002. The couple have one daughter, Noa Isabel Saviano, who's now about the age he and his co-stars were playing in The Wonder Years. "Happy birthday to the most amazing human I know," Saviano captioned an Instagram with Noa when she recently turned 14. "Your beauty inside and out is matched only by your insatiable drive for learning, for performing and for righteousness."
And he's still close with his Wonder Years colleagues.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesWhile it's been almost 30 years since it went off the air, Saviano posts about The Wonder Years on social media pretty often. In January, he posted a photo of himself and Savage in character on Instagram in honor of the show's anniversary. "33 years ago today, The Wonder Years premiered and changed many things: it changed my life of course, but it also changed the way a half hour television program was viewed," he wrote.
He's kept in touch with his co-stars, as well. Last April, he did an Instagram Live session with McKellar, where they discussed their lives in quarantine and memories from their time working together as kids. And back in 2019, McKellar shared a photo of her, Savage, and Saviano getting lunch together. "it was so much fun to catch up and hear how their beautiful families are doing! ❤" she wrote. "And yes, @joshsaviano, I totally agree - *you guys* are like family... I mean, we DID grow up together, after all."
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