Danielle Fishel He grew up in the spotlight as a child actor Boy meets worldand her experience on the show has taught her exactly what to do — and what to avoid — when it comes to directing young stars like those on the series. Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
“The one thing I try to get away from is that we've done too much for him Boy meets world (It's) a fast-paced dialogue,” Fishel, 43, said exclusively Us Weekly While discussing her role as a director Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Inaugural season. “There were a lot of scenes where people talking to each other were shooting rapidly. Depending on what was being said, that timing can add to the funny, but it also gives the idea that no one is really listening to the other person.
Fishel noted that being a good actress is “all about listening to your scene partner” and “letting what they said affect you in some way” — something she feels didn't always happen on the hit '90s sitcom. Now, this is something she tries to be “ashamed of” when running her own episodes.
“I want the actors to feel like they are living in reality,” she explained. “Even if this reality involves magic, it is the reality of their personality. So I try to isolate people as much as possible.
Fishel made a name for herself by playing the beloved character Topanga Lawrence in all seven seasons Boy meets worldwhich ran from 1993 to 2000. While growing up on the ABC series inevitably taught her “what to do” in making a successful television show, it also helped her figure out “what to do.”
“I definitely try to incorporate some movement. It can be kind of difficult in a show where you have a lot of characters in one group and everyone has to talk to each other,” she said, adding that “finding natural, organic places for people to cross and move” also represents A challenge.
“And one of the things I think we did well Boy meets world She continued: “The punchlines that our actors made felt natural, and didn't feel like, 'Well, why did they do that?'
Fishel prepares to incorporate action by blocking out loops in her “mind” before filming before going through her paces. However, in the end, she says the actor is always the “expert” on his or her character – and she is always open to feedback.
“If something I'm telling you to do doesn't feel good to you or doesn't feel natural to you, I want you to tell me and let's come up with something else,” she said. we. “You're making a suggestion, let's try it.” This is a safe space and let's find the best way to do this. It has worked very well for me so far.”
This open communication is something that continues when communicating with any of the younger cast members in her group, especially when it involves giving feedback. Fishel understands well the feeling of having “all eyes” on her, and she doesn't want that feeling to seep through to the actors she's directing.
“I think one of the things that's really important is to have conversations with every child, not in front of everyone,” she explained. “When you're rehearsing, you're on set and everyone's standing around you – there's crew members, or the kids' parents, or their guardians; whoever was there watching them that day. And when you're taking notes and trying to perfect the scene, it can sometimes feel like, 'Everyone's eyes are on me and I'm I just got a note.’ And I never want them to think that if I give them a note, it means I'm correcting something they did.
Fishel added that there is no “right or wrong” approach to action, just “different approaches” about what to try and what risks to take. “And so when I can tell that the actor is maybe feeling a little insecure or… It needs a little pep talk She said: For whatever reason we“I'll ask the parent or guardian and that representative to step aside where no one can really see us and have a one-on-one conversation where (I say): 'Tell me what's going on with you.'”
Fishel's directorial career began in 2014 with the film BMW revival series, Girl meets world. While she reprized her role as Topanga in the Disney series, she also stepped behind the camera for the first time. There she realized that her “maternal instincts” were strong – STARS Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter “I felt a lot like my kids,” she said. we – But her directing style did not completely change until she became a mother. (Fishel shares sons Adler, 5, and Keaton, 3, with her husband Jensen Karp.)
“I know from seeing my children and seeing their vulnerabilities that every child, even when they are the star of their own TV show, deals with their own insecurities and self-doubt,” she said. “And if I can be someone who encourages them and makes them feel like they're learning something over the course of a week or (two), then maybe they'll have a better understanding of what they're doing or why they're doing it, and that they had a good time and want to do it again, and then I feel like I've succeeded.” In my work.
Fishel has since directed countless episodes of popular television series such as Raven House, Sydney to the max and Lopez vs. Lopez. Her first appearance on Wizards Beyond Waverly Place — Reviving the hit From the early 2000s – airing on Disney Channel this month. The episode, titled “Potions Eleven,” follows teenage magician Billy (Janice Lynn Brown(When her teacher Justin Russo enters)David Henry) I don't mind knowing what actually happened to get him fired from his job as a professor at WizTech years ago.
The plot line picks up from the OG series finale – which Henry starred alongside Selena Gomezwho also reprises her role as Alex Russo — and reveals a secret that fans have been curious about since the show's inception. This pressure was not lost on Fishel.
She explained, “The biggest challenge was overcoming my fear that I would let anyone down,” noting that Processors The franchise is “very special” and “very meaningful” to fans. “The unicorn incident is a big (story) — it's a big episode — and having it in my hands was a little unnerving.”
Fortunately, everyone on set made Fishel feel “at ease” — especially fellow former child actor Henry, 35, who is also a producer on the series.
“David Henrie is absolutely amazing, and the minute I started filming with him I saw what he was capable of, whether through heartfelt, vulnerable moments or extremely bizarre physical comedy. She can really do it all,” she gushed. “And so once I got there and saw what this whole cast was capable of, I was like, ‘Oh, there’s no failure here. “There is only success.”
New episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place It airs on Disney Channel on Fridays at 8 pm ET.
