Biography
As a cute juvenile lead, Fred Savage was capable of appearing wise beyond his years, a talent put to good use in the feature "Vice Versa" (1988), the story of a father (Judge Reinhold) and son who switch bodies, and as the grandson of Peter Falk to whom the tale of "The Princess Bride" (1987) is related. The adolescent Savage was best known, however, as the perceptive and thoughtful '60s kid Kevin Arnold on the popular comedy-drama "The Wonder Years" (ABC, 1988-93). During this period, Savage also appeared in a handful of TV movies, including an affecting turn as a youth with muscular dystrophy who calls attention to the abuse and neglect in the nursing home to which he is confined in "When You Remember Me" (ABC, 1990). In a change of pace, Savage played the abusive boyfriend of a high school student (Candace Cameron) in "No One Would Tell" (NBC, 1996). The following year, the 20-something actor returned to series TV as a recent college graduate negotiating the minefields of corporate life in the NBC sitcom "Working" (1997-99). After graduating from Stanford University in 1999 with a bachelor's in English, Savage returned to Hollywood determined to revive his career, not as an actor but as a director. He dipped his toe in the directing pool when he helmed an episode of little brother Ben's hit sitcom, "Boy Meets World" (ABC, 1993-2000), then dove in headfirst after leaving college. He directed episodes of sitcoms "All About Us" (NBC, 2001-02), "What I Like About You" (WB, 2002-06) and "That's So Raven" (Disney, 2002-06), then had steadier work helming a season of "Phil of the Future" (Disney, 2004-06), a family comedy about a kid from the year 2121 trapped in contemporary times after his time machine breaks down. While maintaining regular directing work on "Unfabulous" (Nickelodeon, 2004-07) and "Drake & Josh" (Nickelodeon, 2004-07), Savage appeared in an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ), and had supporting roles in several features, including "The Rules of Attraction" (2002), "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (2002) and "Welcome to Mooseport" (2004). Savage then returned to regular series work with "Crumbs" (ABC, 2006), playing a closeted gay writer who returns home to help run his family's restaurant after failing to make it in Hollywood. The series lasted only 13 episodes, but Savage went on to direct his first feature, Eddie Murphy family comedy "Daddy Day Camp" (2007). Returning to television, Savage signed on as a producer of cult comedy "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" (FX/FXX 2005- ) and directed a number of episodes as well. He performed a similar function on another cult favorite, Hollywood satire "Party Down" (Starz 2009-2010). Firmly established as a highly-regarded television director with long stints on hit series like "Modern Family" (ABC 2009- ) and "Two Broke Girls" (CBS 2011-17), Savage also executive produced the sitcoms "Best Friends Forever" (NBC 2012) starring Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair and "Garfunkel and Oates" (Comedy Central 2014) starring Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome. Savage also returned to acting during this period, co-starring in a voice role in science fiction animated series "Generator Rex" (Cartoon Network 2010-12) before co-starring opposite Rob Lowe in legal comedy "The Grinder" (Fox 2015-16) and appearing opposite Keegan-Michael Key and Cobie Smulders in ensemble comedy "Friends from College" (Netflix 2017- ).
