Fred Savage – Child Star Turned Sitcom Director
Imagine reading this with a Daniel Stern voice over. That would awesome.
When you think of Fred Savage you immediately think Wonder Years, then Winnie Cooper, then something weird…. Anyways, strange tangent, I’m back on track now. Maybe you even think of the many Tiger Beat covers he graced, or G-rated movies your parents took you to back in the late 80′s. Well, lil’ Fred Savage is all grown up and since a brief (but hilarious appearance as the Mole in Austin Powers) he has stepped behind the camera and is quickly becoming a pretty damn good TV director.
Starting out in kids shows like Zoey 101, Hannah Montana and Boy Meets World (he directed his little brother) then a brief stint in feature film where he directed the flop Daddy Day Camp, Savage has found his niche, and it’s in Sunny Philadelphia. His prime time directing gigs include Greek, Ugly Betty and Aliens in America, but his crowning moment came with his directorial debut on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2007 Fred Savage directed the episode where Mac and Dennis try out for the Philadelphia Eagles. The episode itself is still one of the strongest in the series as it shows what Danny DeVito would be like on acid.
Since then he’s gone on to direct about 20 more episodes, but none have been better than the recently dropped It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Christmas Special. You know you’ve become a successful director when you can film a Christmas special complete with a violent animated montage, a couch giving birth to Danny DeVito, a neck biting incident and talking robots. Check out the trailer below.
