The boys of ‘Girl Meets World’ talk puberty, the future, singing and dancing

GIRL MEETS WORLD – AUGUST MATURO, DANIELLE FISHEL, BEN SAVAGE, ROWAN BLANCHARD (Disney Channel)

“Boy Meets World” brings back instant nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the ’90s. And even for those who didn’t, Cory and Topanga (or Cory and Shawn, for that matter) still remain one of the quirkiest, most memorable TV couples ever.

“I can’t believe that I’m the son of the most famous couple in the world!” exclaimed 8-year-old August Maturo, who plays Auggie Matthews on the hit Disney Channel show “Girl Meets World,” featuring the grown-up cast of Boy Meets World and their children’s adventures. “I love all my cast.”

I sat down with the boys of Girl Meets World after their regular Wednesday table read. Peyton Meyer, who plays Lucas Friar, told me he was in his classic “Peyton look,” his everyday outfit composed of running shoes, shorts, and a T-shirt. Corey Fogelmanis long ago traded in turtlenecks for tees and a swoopy bowl cut for a slicked-back style.

“[Looking back], I definitely cringe a little bit. I guess this is kind of awkward but I went through puberty on-screen, so it’s very interesting to see pictures and clips from Season 1,” laughed Fogelmanis. “I think it’ll be a fun thing to look back on when I’m older—maybe a little scary, maybe a little terrifying—the hair!—but it’ll be fun.”

Not only are Farkle’s eccentricities captured forever on-screen, but also the genuine friendship of the cast.

“We were so close because we spent so much time together. Immediately we just had this chemistry,” said Meyer. “We all kind of grew up together. When the cameras are off, we are crazy. We are crazier than [our characters]. We have so many inside jokes and we always have a good time—that’s how we get the energy up in shows. Sometimes [the editors] pick these scenes that we’re breaking because they like to see that we’re having fun. If you look out for it, you can see little pieces of us having fun.”

GIRL MEETS WORLD -CECELIA BALAGOT, COREY FOGELMANIS, ROWAN BLANCHARD, SABRINA CARPENTER, PEYTON MEYER, AMIR MITCHELL-TOWNES (Disney Channel/Eric McCandless)

Girl Meets World was Meyer’s first foray into the professional acting world—a huge transition for the Vegas native. However, it helped that the cast was in the same boat of being general newcomers to the industry.

“We went through it together—learning what to do, how the system works. Our executive producer Michael Jacobs saved our lives and just taught us everything we needed to know in the last three years,” said Meyer.

Four years later, the young stars are still on top of their game, pursuing their passions and acting as role models for their followers.

“Growing up is really tough especially if you don’t have someone to guide you. I think our show does a good job explaining life lessons and problems that kids have today,” explained Meyer. “Off set, they call us ‘famous.’ I don’t really feel famous, but I think we have a big impact on little kids who follow us on social media, which is really cool.”

A theme that GMW will be visiting soon is dealing with the uncertainties of the future. As freshmen, these characters are not overly concerned with predicting the future—yet. Meyer revealed that the episode they just had the table read for concerns the teenagers starting to feel the pressure.

“Right now we’re like, we’re best friends forever and we’re always going to be friends,” reflected Meyer. “But if you think like a junior, you start to think about going separate ways and attending different colleges. We’re not all going to want to go to the same college. It’s interesting to think about the future—a lot of kids do that, I do that a lot. You have a lot on your mind and you don’t really know what you’re going for, but you’re trying to figure out your path and it’s cool how we get to do that in this episode.”

GIRL MEETS WORLD – COREY FOGELMANIS, ROWAN BLANCHARD, PEYTON MEYER, SABRINA CARPENTER, CECELIA BALAGOT, AMIR MITCHELL-TOWNES (Disney Channel/Mitch Haaseth)

As for the future of these GMW boys, anything is possible. Fogelmanis hopes to return to theater, a place he calls his first home.

“Theater gave me a good introduction to acting. I’m really happy I started on stage. You develop such a family. I learned so many things that I feel like you don’t learn with film because it is so fast paced,” explained Fogelmanis. “With theater you have three-month rehearsal process. It gave me a lot of room to grow and get comfortable with being in front of people. I definitely want to go back to that.”

His passion for theater has infiltrated the GMW set.

“Whenever anything comes up from one of our favorite shows, we’ll automatically quote the show, and that could be perceived as very weird. We’ll just break into song,” laughed Fogelmanis.

Meyer told me he wouldn’t mind trying his hand at theater.

“I would love to do it because it’s live! Even though we have a live audience here, it’s so much more fun when you can interact with the crowd,” he observed. “The only thing is that I have no rhythm. So any singing and dancing—I would have to take a seat.”

Complete with singing and dancing, Pasadena Playhouse’s “Peter Pan and Tinker Bell: A Pirate’s Playhouse” starred Fogelmanis and Maturo along with co-star Sabrina Carpenter. The three revealed a fun fact about their time on stage.

“During tech week, Auggie was having trouble with some of his lines so I learned all of them, just in case during the show he forgot,” said Fogelmanis. “But he did a good job. Once the show opened, he was on top of almost all of his lines!”

PETER PAN AND TINKER BELL A PIRATES CHRISTMAS – KEVIN QUINN, SABRINA CARPENTER, COREY FOGELMANIS, AUGUST MATURO (Pasadena Playhouse)

The musical was Maturo’s stage debut.

“It was really exciting to work with the new cast and new people. I was kind of nervous,” recalled Maturo. “Was I going to forget my line? I was just making excuses until my mom said, you’re going to be fine. And she pointed out that whenever I try to memorize my lines here, I get them right. Every single time!”

Don’t miss out on Maturo’s perfectly memorized lines in Girl Meets World on Disney Channel, Fridays at 8:30 p.m.