Ben and Will at the set of Girl Meets World a few months ago
Well, it’s not really an interview since Will Friedle and the “interviewer” are good friends. Will talked about his acting career, his anxiety and he talked about fate.
Will said that he almost didn’t get the role in Boy Meets World since he was sick and had to miss the pilot taping but it turned out the other person was nearly the same height as Ben and that doesn’t work out since that is the older brother so they brought Will back in and loved him.
He also mentioned his entire life changed in 10th of a second, forever, when he was 22 in the middle of a take for a movie. He had his first anxiety attack and dealt with anxiety ever since and at one point it got so bad that he couldn’t do on-camera work anymore. Will said if you look back on Boy Meets World, that you’ll notice he gained 40-50 lbs of weight near the end seasons of the show. Medications was what was making him eat. Will said that his anxiety got so bad that it prevented him from being able to do on-camera work. He couldn’t audition or anything because the anxiety attacks were so bad.
He has since went to therapy and was on medication for a year and a half but has since not been on it for around 15 years now. Will stills deals with anxiety on a daily basis, 4-5 times a week but he’s controlling it.
Will also said in his head that he cannot do Girl Meets World due to the anxiety. He also noticed all the rumors such as agoraphobia that people were saying about him. He said he has to do it, he has to try. He said this cannot be a better test for him since he knows everyone on the set and it can most likely help him act on-screen again.
Showrunner Michael Jacobs was offering anything to him to allow him to be comfortable on the set so he can return. He was being amazingly helpful. He came back, and once the audience did a standing ovation for him and cheered, he almost cried. He realized he can do camera work again. It changed his life. He did 3 episodes for Girl Meets World.
**There is profanity in the interview**
Listen to the interview here: http://www.livingthedreamshow.com/will-friedle/