Ben Savage
Savage in 2023
Born	Bennett Joseph Savage (1980-09-13)September 13, 1980 (age 45) Chicago,Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988–present
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Tessa Angermeier ​ (m. 2023)​
Relatives	Fred Savage (brother) Kala Savage (sister)

Bennett Joseph Savage (born September 13, 1980^[1]) is an American actor. He played the lead role ofCory Matthews on theABC sitcomBoy Meets World (1993–2000) and itsDisney Channel sequelGirl Meets World (2014–2017).

Savage was born inChicago,Illinois, to Joanne and Lewis Savage (1946–2015^[2][3]), who worked as an industrial real estate broker and a consultant.^{[4][better source needed]} His elder brother is actor and directorFred Savage, and his elder sister is actress and musician Kala Savage. His grandparents were Jewish and fromPoland,Ukraine,Germany, andLatvia, and Savage was raised inReform Judaism.^[5]

Savage made his film debut at the age of 9 in his elder brotherFred Savage'sLittle Monsters (1989) and appeared in the feature filmsBig Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1992), as Sam, the brainy little brother, and as a 10-year-old inClifford (1994), the latter starringMartin Short. Savage's stage debut was inThe Laughter Epidemic at thePasadena Playhouse. He also guest starred on his brother Fred's TV seriesThe Wonder Years in the season three episode "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" as aCupid-esque character named Curtis Hartsell.

His first significant speaking role on network television was playing the recurring role of Matthew, son of theJudd Hirsch character, on the comedy seriesDear John (1988). He was one of a family of orphans who conRobert Mitchum into being their guardian inA Family for Joe (NBC, 1990).

Savage is best known for his role as lead character Cory Matthews on the hit TV sitcomBoy Meets World from 1993 until 2000. Savage's brother Fred appeared alongside him in one episode, guest starring as a lecherous college professor pursuing Cory's girlfriend. In the following season, Fred directed his brother and the cast in the episode "Family Trees," as Shawn (Rider Strong) discovers that the woman who raised him is not his biological mother.

Savage has also worked in several TV movies, includingShe Woke Up (1992) withLindsay Wagner andMcDonald's Family Theatre Presents: Aliens for Breakfast (1995), as a young teen whose breakfast cereal figure comes alive.

Savage received critical recognition for his portrayal of Coty Wyckoff, an angel-faced boy with the soul of a killer, in theABC Event Series,Wild Palms (1993).^[6]

In May 1998, Savage again received critical acclaim, this time for playing Roddy Stern inTony Award-winnerIsrael Horovitz's rarely seen playUnexpected Tenderness at the Marilyn Monroe Theater. He received anOvation Award for his performance.^[7]

In 2002, Savage starred in the filmSwimming Upstream playing the best friend who was slightly immature but very supportive of his terminally ill friend.

Savage took a break from acting in both film and television for three years, but he later made a guest appearance inStill Standing as Seth Cosella, the boss of Bill Miller, played byMark Addy. That same year he starred as Ford Davis in the independent featureCar Babes, which was shot on location inLos Gatos, California, and also guest starred as himself in an episode of theDisney Channel original seriesPhil of the Future.

In 2006, he starred in the critically acclaimed independent filmPalo Alto, which first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007.^[8]

In 2008, he starred as Mark Ratner in an episode of the NBC seriesChuck, as well as a murder suspect Kirby Morris in an episode ofWithout a Trace.

In 2011, he appeared in an episode of the Fox seriesBones. He also guest starred on the Disney Channel seriesShake It Up playing Andy Burns.

In November 2012, Savage announced via his Twitter account that he had signed on to theBoy Meets World spin-off series,Girl Meets World.^[9] The series premiered on the Disney Channel on June 27, 2014, and features Savage's character Cory and hisBoy Meets World love interest Topanga (Danielle Fishel) married in their adult years with two children. The series follows Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley (Rowan Blanchard) as she enters middle school and tries to navigate through life. Besides being Riley's father, Cory is also her history teacher in this series; in addition to his on-screen role, Savage directed 10 episodes. The series was canceled after three seasons on January 5, 2017, with the final episode airing on January 20.^[10]

Savage has, on three occasions, portrayed younger versions of characters played byMandy Patinkin in flashback scenes: in 2015 and 2020 inCriminal Minds, and in 2020 inHomeland.

In 2020, Savage starred in the television filmLove, Lights, Hanukkah! forHallmark.^[11] In 2022, he was cast in theLifetime filmGirl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature film series where he portrays Nathaniel Kibby.^[12]

Savage interned for U.S. SenatorArlen Specter (R–PA) in 2003 as a requirement for completing his studies atStanford University, where he graduated in 2004 with a degree inpolitical science and as a member of theSigma Chi fraternity.^[13]

In August 2022, Savage qualified as a candidate for theWest Hollywood City Council.^[14] He was not elected for one of the three at-large positions.^[15] In March 2023, Savage announcedhis campaign as aDemocrat forCalifornia's 30th congressional district, held byAdam Schiff, who retired to run forUnited States Senate.^[16] He was defeated in the primary bystate AssemblywomanLaura Friedman and five other candidates.^[17]

In October 2023, Savage signed an open letter written byCreative Community for Peace after theHamas-led attacks on Israel. The article urged Hollywood to supportIsrael and support the country as it "defends itself against a terrorist regime inGaza that seeks Israel’s destruction."^[18]

Savage married Tessa Angermeier in February 2023.^[19] He announced on May 20, 2025, via Instagram that he and his wife were expecting their first child in late 2025.^[20]

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• Ben Savage atIMDb

• 1980 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American Jews
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American Jews
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male child actors
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American people of German-Jewish descent
• American people of Latvian descent
• American people of Latvian-Jewish descent
• American people of Polish-Jewish descent
• American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
• Jewish American male actors
• Jews from Illinois
• Male actors from Chicago
• Savage siblings
• California Democrats
• Illinois Democrats
• Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections

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