Why Rider Strong Was ‘Against’ Matthew Lawrence Joining “Boy Meets World” as His Brother
Why Rider Strong Was ‘Against’ Matthew Lawrence Joining “Boy Meets World” as His Brother
Victoria EdelMon, February 23, 2026 at 9:16 PM UTC
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Rider Strong (left) and Matthew Lawrence on 'Boy Meets World'
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Rider Strong opened up about why he was 'against' Matthew Lawrence joining Boy Meets World in the series' fifth season
Lawrence played the half-brother of Strong's Shawn Hunter
Strong said he found Lawrence 'intimidating' because of the work he and his brothers had done in Hollywood
Matthew Lawrence played Rider Strong’s brother on Boy Meets World, but Strong wasn’t happy when he first joined the show.
Strong, who played Shawn Hunter on the beloved ‘90s series, appeared on the Feb. 20 episode of the Brotherly Love podcast, hosted by Matthew alongside brothers Joey and Andrew. Matthew joined Boy Meets World in its fifth season as Jack Hunter, Shawn’s long-lost half-brother who had a much more stable childhood than he did.
Matthew, 46, asked Strong what he thought about him when he joined the series. He said he’s a “shy and kind of introverted” person, and that often he’ll run into former colleagues who will say “Wow, you're actually a nice person. I thought you were kind of an ass.”
From left: Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Ben Savage in the second season of 'Boy Meets World'
Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
“And I was like, ‘No, I was just quiet and actually like kind of overwhelmed with all these people and stuff,’ ” he said.
Strong, 46, said the cast “figured out” that Matthew was mostly just shy “within the first year,” but that he initially had major issues with Matthew joining the cast before he ever met him.
“But before you got there, I would say all three of you guys were very intimidating . . . because you guys were like the established Hollywood people,” Strong said “You were the very successful set of brothers who had become superstars and done all this stuff. So for us, I think there was a sense of like, 'Oh God, the Lawrences are coming.' " The trio of brothers laughed at this.
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Joey, 49, first found success as a child actor in the ‘80s and found fame playing Joey Russo on Blossom. Andrew, 38, also appeared on Blossom and then on the 1994 sitcom Tom. Matthew began acting in the late ‘80s and appeared in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Mrs. Doubtfire. In 1995, the trio starred together in the sitcom Brotherly Love on NBC.
Rider Strong (left) and Matthew Lawrence on 'Boy Meets World'
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
“And so when you came on set, I think there was this [question] like, ‘What is he doing here? Does he even need to do this?’ ” Strong said. “It sort of felt like you were being imposed on us. . . . The network wants a Lawrence in our show and we were like, ‘But we don't need him.’ ” When he arrived, Strong still found it “weird.”
“So I was against it . . . but once we talked to you and hung out, we were like, ‘Oh no, this is fine,’ ” Strong said. He was mostly reacting to “your reputation as a family” and sharted that from his perspective, the brothers were the “Hollywood establishment” and “super intimidating.
“I remember being like, ‘I don't understand this world that these guys like are so comfortable in,’ ” he said. “. . . Back then I always felt like I was outside of the industry with like my nose pressed against the glass.” The brother admitted that they felt pretty much the same way at the time and still do.
Matthew ultimately stuck around for the final three seasons of Boy Meets World, which wrapped up with season seven in 2000. The complicated relationship between Strong’s Shawn and Lawrence’s Jack also became a core part of the show, as did Jack’s relationships with other characters. Both actors also returned for the sequel series, Girl Meets World, which ran from 2014 to 2017.
Boy Meets World also starred Ben Savage, William Daniels, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle. Strong, Fishel and Friedle co-host a rewatch podcast, titled Pod Meets World.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
