Trina McGee has been getting all the love and support from Boy Meets World fans, as she's been discussing her experiences (those good and not-so-good) while working on the classic show. She hasn’t been shy about revealing "disrespectful" incidents that occurred during her years on the show. While detailing her time playing Angela Moore, the star also recalled the lengthy audition process to securing the major role. After hearing the actress' account, the show’s casting directors recalled tapping her to play the beloved character.
On a recent Pod Meets World episode, the Angela Moore actress spoke to her Boy Meets World castmates about her chaotic journey to playing Shawn Hunter’s girlfriend. Shortly after hearing her amazing audition story, the hosts welcomed to casting directors Barbie Block and Sally Stiner to the rewatch podcast. Danielle Fishel brought up Trina McGee's assertion that she didn’t get a callback after feeling like she nailed the role. McGee said she went to her agent to get a second one, only to be blown off.
Yet the actress was resourceful and employed the help of her agent’s assistant who apparently called Block to secure another audition. Upon hearing the story, the Hollywood veterans were candid about their impression of McGee at the time:
"Sally Stiner: Our memory is there was no one else. Trina was so unique.
Barbie Block: And we’re watching and are like, ‘Oh my god, she was good.’ She was terrific."
Well, it seems that Trina McGee was the choice from day one, according to the BMW casting directors. Just like them, few others could probably imagine anyone else playing Topanga’s best friend. Later in the chat, Rider Strong and Will Friedle also mentioned McGee’s claim that she had to audition against 10 actresses through three separate auditions before being cast. With that, Barbie Block was candid about the hurdles they had to go through to secure the actress. She put the onus on Disney for the multiple auditions:
Disney put us through the wringer. They made us bring in a zillion girls. A lot of people are like ‘Don’t bring in your best people first.’ I don’t follow any of that crap. I like to bring in who I think is special for the role. And if they wanna see 50 other people, that’s fine, but I’ve done my work.
From their point of view, Disney wasn’t sure whether the performer was the right fit for the role of Shawn’s love interest, so they asked that a wide range of candidates be brought in. The casting director knew from the beginning who she liked in the role. Sally Stiner backed up Block's words by singling out the undeniable chemistry between the Family Matters vet and Rider Strong:
You know that role of Angela was so special, and there was so much pressure on it because Shawn was going to fall in love for the first time. And who is going to really turn Rider’s head? You get back down to that chemistry again. If you quizzed me, I couldn’t tell you who those other nine girls were.
Stiner pointed out that the two stars had a chemistry that rivaled that of Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel. The idea of building a romance as strong as Cory and Topanga's is daunting, but Trina McGee more than rose to the occasion. That's even more astonishing when you consider the age difference between McGee and her co-stars. I don't know about all of you, but I'm thankful that the two casting directors were able to recognize talent.
The audition story wasn’t the only bombshell McGee dropped, as she also revealed the messed-up reason she didn’t appear in the series finale. Thankfully, the looming issue was resolved, as her cast-mates cleared up any assumption that they played a part in her absence from the show. Digging up the past can't be easy for her at times, but it's great to see the Boy Meets World star owning her narrative and sharing her truth about her experiences.
You can get more stories like this and Danielle Fishel’s first kiss with Ben Savage by listening to Pod Meets World weekly through iHeartRadio. On it, the stars spill tea while rewatching all seasons of Boy Meets World. You can keep up by getting a Disney+ subscription to watch every episode.
