WEBVTT - Danica McKellar 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:05.760 Your first kiss was on camera with Fred in the pilot. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:10.240 How did that bring some extra nerves for you, especially 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:11.760 because at the time I had a huge crush on 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.560 him and I was just so excited and so nervous. 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:18.120 And I still remember after the first take when they 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:21.880 said cut, the whole crew started a plodding, and I 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.560 don't know who started that, but it was mortifying. I mean, 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.400 you can only imagine all the nerves, anticipation. You know, 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:28.960 you're about to have your first kiss, You've got a 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:31.320 crush on the guy, you know, and then it finally happens. 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:35.000 It's the most amazing moment ever, and it's like, wait, 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:44.879 that wasn't a private That wasn't real, Okay, right. Hi. 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.080 My name is Danika McKellar. I act in Christmas movies 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:59.480 and I write math books for kids. Hello, my favorite 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:04.280 listener and also my not so favorite listeners. Welcome to 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:08.920 another episode of Off the Beat. I'm your host, as always, 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:13.760 Brian Baumgartner. Now, as you just heard, my guest today 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:18.000 is Danica mckeller, who, well you might know from her 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:22.959 time playing Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years. Everyone who 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:26.440 I have told that I have talked to Danica has 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:31.080 been so excited. Apparently there are a lot of Wonder 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:34.920 Years fans out there, or maybe you know her from 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:39.280 the many rom coms that she started the Winter Palace 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:44.560 Christmas at Dollywood with of course Dolly Pardon, but there's 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:48.040 also a subset of you who might know her for 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:52.240 a totally different reason. That's right, Danika is gonna out 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:59.160 math even me today. Yes, she does do the numbers. 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:04.320 She literally has a mathematical theorem named after her. I mean, 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:09.200 is that normal? It is certainly not normal on this podcast. 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:11.960 And to think her big splash in the world of 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:16.560 academics happened after she'd already kicked off her acting career. 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:22.280 Danica has truly led an exceptional life, which has included 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.240 things like writing an advice column for Teenbeat magazine and 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:30.840 appearing in one of Avril Levine's music videos. I'm so 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:32.880 excited for her to tell you all about it, and 0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:35.760 so much more so. Let's bring her on my new 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:47.120 best friend, Danica McKellar. Everyone, Bubble and Squeak. I love it, 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:53.760 Bubble and Squeak, Bubble and Squeaker cooking at every month 0:02:54.160 --> 0:03:09.040 left over from the nut before. What's up to Entica? Hey, Hey, Brian, 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:13.639 I'm good. How are you good? Where are you? I 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:17.520 am at home, but I just got back from Canada. 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.920 I just shot a Christmas movie. I was so much fun. 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:24.320 It actually comes out in November. Nice. Yeah, I got 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:28.320 me like Christmas stuff in the Christmas The movie is 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:30.480 called Christmas at the Drive In, by the Way, and 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:33.239 it will be on Great American Family is a new 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.600 channel very similar to Homemark. I know all about it. 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.200 We're going to talk about that and your your history 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:45.440 with Christmas. Uh, movies of of varying types. I want 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:48.640 to I want to start back with you though you 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:53.160 were You were born in Lahoya? Is that right? Very 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:56.640 close to where I live now? Yeah? I mean what 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.720 was it like being born in Paradise? Oh? I know 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:03.040 you just you just take it for granted and don't realize. Wait, 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:07.400 Laoia is this incredible vacation spot. And to grow up 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:08.960 there and my dad still lives there. I go there 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:13.000 all the time. In fact, my family built the Laoia 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:17.040 beis and Tennis Club a couple of generations ago. No, well, 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:19.680 I grew up at the beach club. I mean I 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:22.160 have a lifetime membership just because I'm family. I'm actually 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.760 a part owner um technically speaking. So yeah, that's buying 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:29.080 my roots. I need a discount. I need a friends 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:34.320 and family discount. I love that place. For those of 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:37.200 you who don't know, this is a it is. It's 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:43.159 private on the beach. It's one of like two in California. 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:47.719 It is absolutely And you think, what difference does that make? What? 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:49.919 What the difference it makes is? You can do anything 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:53.479 you want. That's basically it. If you want to make 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.640 a bonfire, you can have a bonfire. If you want 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:59.400 to put a grill out, you can do that. It's 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:02.040 an in doable place. I don't live quite close enough 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:05.120 that it makes sense for me, but it is a club. 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:06.680 By the way, if you if you there's it's a 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:08.239 hotel as well, so you can stay at the hotel. 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.120 You can stay there, that's right, you can stay there 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:12.960 all the same benefits as a member. That is what 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.200 I have done. Yes, so that is very cool. I'd 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:23.920 always tell people it's only bad if you don't like perfect. Yes, 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:28.800 but you fairly early on age eight, you moved up 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:32.560 to Los Angeles. Why did you leave Paradise? So my 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.200 my parents divorced and my mom was producing music videos 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:39.680 of all things. She was a answer before and work 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:42.400 brought her to l A. And then my sister and 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:44.840 I decided we kind of wanted to try acting, and 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:48.000 she put us in acting classes at LEA Strassburg like 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:51.120 that same year, I think, and so very quickly it 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:55.840 like we started working, and then I started doing commercials 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:58.239 and things. We both did, me and my sister. About 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.000 a year and a half later, I booked The Wondering Years, 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:05.320 and then I was working as well. Okay, so the 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.960 Lee Strasburg Institute, for those of you who don't know, 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:12.000 there's like three who are considered to be the greatest 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:17.640 theater teachers Udahgen Lee Strasburg. I mean, this is this 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.000 is serious business. And so like at age eight and nine, 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:26.520 you're already taking classes there. Yeah, your classes kids, you 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:28.880 know well, of course, but we loved it. We loved 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:31.520 it so but my mom had she said my my 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.280 mom's rule was this, She said no projects would take 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:37.719 us away from home and no series. So I wasn't 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.040 allowed to audition for any series. The part of Winnie 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.080 Cooper was only supposed to be a guest role on 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:45.480 the pilot episode only, so that's the only reason I 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:47.560 was even allowed to audition for it. And when I 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.200 got the job and we were midway through shooting, the 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.560 producers saying, hey, toll my mom, we really think that 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.560 Danna Kinfred had this really cool chemistry. So I would 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:57.400 like to extended cotton in. The network agrees we want 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:58.680 to if I never had to go to network for 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.320 that show. Uh, they like to to make for a 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:04.680 series regular. My mom was really torn about him. No, please, please, 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:06.599 please you because I loved working and I was I 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:10.200 loved the group, and because the other moms Joanne Savage, 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.960 James Saviano, Marsha Hervey, they were very much about their 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:16.320 kids and protecting their kids. They weren't that typical stage 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.880 mom do you think of like mom's shoving their kids 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.200 in front of the camera and you know, kissing after 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:23.520 the producers. These moms were all like, you know, our 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:26.080 kids or kids first. And because of that, my mom said, 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:28.800 you know, this might be an okay environment, but I'm 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.480 getting a really expensive lawyer, and if there's any issue 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:33.120 of bread, have a loophole and you tell me, you 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:34.840 just say the word and you can just leave the 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:36.960 show at anytime, Like okay, I'm not going to do that. 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:42.680 But your sister, Crystal you mentioned, is active with you 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:46.400 as well, and presumably you both enjoyed it. Now I 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:49.560 read that both you and your sister were up for 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.040 the role of Wenny Cooper. Now was this? Did this 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:54.480 cause issues when you got cast with the family at 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:56.640 home and it was just a one time role. It 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:59.320 wasn't like a big deal role that I got, you know, 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:02.040 it was a one off. But they loved her so 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:03.480 much they said they were going to write a role 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:05.800 for her, and they did. She played Becky Slater. She 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:09.040 did I think nine or ten episodes. That's awesome. So 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:12.680 because you weren't auditioning for serious roles, this ends up 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:14.920 becoming a really big deal for you. Do you remember 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:19.560 anything about the audition? Yes, I remember. I remember we 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:22.960 auditioned on a Thursday callback for that Friday, and I 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.760 remember there's like a group of girls all reading for 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:28.600 the part of Winning Cooper, including me and my sister, 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:30.400 and the room got small and small, and I kept 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:32.319 having us come in and read again, and I said, 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:34.439 we're taking a dinner break. You come back and you're 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:38.280 gonna read with Fred Savage, the boy who's playing the lead. 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:40.959 After dinner, I was like okay. So we all went 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.880 to dinner and there's a restaurant down belows the studio city, 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.240 and H remember seeing Fred and wondering if that was 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:49.800 the kid, and I was like, oh, he's cute. I 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:51.600 wonder if she's the guy who I'll be reading with, 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:53.400 and it was. I'm not sure I ever said in 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:55.319 this in an interview, but it came down to the 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:57.800 three of us, Me and my sister and this actress. 0:08:57.800 --> 0:08:59.719 I don't know her name, but she ended up with 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:02.400 like a couple of lines in the pilot episode. She's 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.040 the girl for people who are super fans of the 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:08.560 Wonder Years. Kevin is talking about love, you know, Junior High, 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:12.400 and there's this couple who's holding hands across his desk 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:14.400 saying I love you, I love you too, And she 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:16.680 was one of she was one of the three of 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:20.560 us who were the final contenders or Winnny Cooper. So 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:22.400 of the three of us who were sitting there reading 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:24.959 with Fred after dinner, we all ended up with Roles 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:27.479 on the show. With Roles on the show, that's awesome 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:31.120 that I love That's a BTS everybody. That's a behind 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.120 the scenes nugget. Um. I did talk for a while 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.680 to to Daniel Fishel about what I understand is the 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.600 same with you that you're your first kiss was on 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:47.240 camera with Fred in the pilot. How did that bring 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:50.800 some extra nerves? Oh for you, especially because at the 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:52.400 time I had a huge crush on him and I 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:55.880 was just so excited and so nervous. And I start 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.400 remember after the first take when they said cut the 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.600 whole Who started a plotting? And I don't know who 0:10:02.679 --> 0:10:04.960 started that, but it was mortifying. I mean, you can 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.960 only imagine all the nerves, anticipation. You know, you're about 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:09.520 to have your first kiss, You've got a crush on 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:11.719 the guy, you know, and then it finally happens. It's 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:15.360 the most amazing moment ever. And it's like, wait, that 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:20.040 wasn't a private that wasn't real, Okay, right? Did you 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.480 did you think for the rest of your life every 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:24.839 time you kissed someone that would it would break out 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.480 an applause all around you. I remember when I had 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:30.880 my first real kiss at least two years, no year 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:33.720 and a half later, with Jeremy Miller, by the way, 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:37.240 who was the little boy on Growing Pains. That was 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:39.520 my first kiss. He was my first little boyfriend. I 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.480 was fourteen and he was thirteen, and and uh, it 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:47.040 was actually at my dad's house in Lahoya, were they 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:49.080 were down there for some reason, and so we all 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.320 hung out and then we're my dad's house and we 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:55.400 had a moment alone and and I remember thinking, wait, 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:57.240 is this gonna be my first kiss? And it was like, oh, 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:01.480 this is so different because I don't know, oh you know, 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:08.600 but not scripted, it may or may not happen. Yes, 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:10.079 So no, I didn't think You're gonna be cameras. But 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:12.079 I was like stunned at how addit felt to not 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:13.800 actually know how I was going to go now how 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:18.360 it was going to go down. Yes, um, you are 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:22.839 on the Wonder Years, basically your entire teenage years, right 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:27.040 twelve to eighteen. What was it like for you growing up? 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:30.160 And this is a huge show at the time, and 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:33.120 everybody is talking about it, and everybody is talking about 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:37.199 you and and about Fred at the time. What was 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:39.240 it like for you growing up in the spotlight with 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.360 all of that attention during what for most is awkward 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:46.120 teenage years. I was not in touch with it. And 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:48.199 that's the truth. I was not in touch with it 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:49.959 at all. At some point some point. I think I 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.319 was probably sixteen, and someone on set referred to me 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.319 as America's sweetheart, and I was like, what we're talking like, 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:58.560 I just I was very busy with school and work 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:01.320 and family life and my mom on both my parents 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:06.200 always emphasize the importance of basically everything over show biz. 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:11.080 So health, family, school, and then sure showbiz. But that's 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:13.920 that was the prioriest game. In fact, when The Wonder 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:16.280 Years got nominated for the first time for an Emmy, 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.200 in fact, we won that year. I wasn't there because 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:21.280 there was a river trip like a river rafting trip 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:23.240 scheduled with my dad and my sister that and he 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:25.199 had a really busy work schedule and we couldn't move it, 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:26.959 and so we went on the trip, I mean, and 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:29.480 it was kind of like, well, we have this invitation 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.160 we could go to the Emmy's where we could go 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.520 in this river rafting trip, And my parents decided together, know, 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:36.079 the trip is more important. And I remember being in 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:39.200 this tiny, little more Tell room in Oregon. We're gonna 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:41.199 get in the Rogue River the next day, and it 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:43.320 was like a TV from the nineteen seventies. I don't 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:45.160 know where. It was, tiny, little screen and we watched 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:47.920 The Wonder Years win the enmy we jumped up and 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:49.360 down the bed and like the we won, and we 0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:50.599 went to sleep, got up at like five in the 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:52.199 morning and hit the river and had the trip of 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:54.480 our lives. I mean, I remember click picking black berries 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:56.000 on the side of the river with my dad and 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:58.520 my sister, and it's some of the most precious memories. 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:01.079 So that kind of thing, you know, that's that was 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:04.520 my life. My life was all the all the regular stuff. 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:06.679 And then I went to work and I loved it, 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.480 but it wasn't the focus. I didn't go to Hollywood parties. 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:12.200 I mean there would be like ABC affiliate parties here 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:14.520 and there that would go to with my mom, you 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:16.040 know what I mean. But I was never I was 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:17.800 never in that scene where I would have been offered 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.240 drugs or gotten going wrong group, but just that just 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:24.280 wasn't my reality. I was going to a challenging school 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:26.439 and it took up a lot of time and that 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:29.560 was my that's my focus. Were you doing set school 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:33.079 as well? Yes, So any day that I missed, I 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.120 actually I just take the homework and do it on set. 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:40.520 And we had a fantastic teacher David Combs. He was great, 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:43.800 and he was great at everything except for math. Like 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:45.760 he was fine. But when I got into pre calculus 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:47.839 and stuff, they brought in somebody else, so I had 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.559 my own personal calculus tutor. I mean, in some ways 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:52.960 you could say that being on the Wonder Years helped 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.760 me in my math education. And ultimately, yeah, I became 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:57.839 a I don't want to jump ahead, but but like 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:00.120 I became a math major e c l A. They 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.320 love math so much, and I had all that wonderful 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:07.000 private tutor in for caculus um. I love that you 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.160 went river rafting instead of going to the Emmy's. I 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.559 love that that your parents were trying to keep that 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:17.880 normalcy and put their importance on on family and those 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:21.320 and those experiences. I do want to ask you, though, 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:27.200 what are some of your favorite memories from your teenage 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:31.480 years that that either were outside of the show or 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:34.720 or happened because of the show. Oh my gosh, it's 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:38.840 a huge question. I mean I went to prom you know, 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:43.440 and uh, I would go to the Homecoming games. The 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:46.200 producers of the Wonderings were really really good about like 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.400 if we had some event coming up, they would try 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:50.520 to work around it. They weren't always able to, but 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:53.480 they always tried, so that was really special. Kent to 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:56.680 fulsky Um and Bob Brush. They were just wonderful and 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.680 really really cared about us being kids, So that made 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:02.920 a huge, huge difference, and I remember being really grateful 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:06.240 to them on several occasions, so that that's a happy memory. 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:09.240 It seems to be, though, as big as the show God, 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:11.920 as much as your parents wanted to shelter you and 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:15.239 give you, as you say, a normal life, the experience 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:19.160 at what became Harvard Westlake, you must have been getting 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:23.840 some attention. There was that positive or was that a negative? 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:25.480 You know, it's in l A. I mean, it's not 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:27.160 that big a deal. Tori Spelling was a couple of 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.720 years ahead of me. It's not a big deal. Okay. 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:32.480 In l A. It was every now and then somebody 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:35.280 would have a problem with me, but it was really 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:37.600 not a big deal. And the guys definitely stayed away. 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.200 I don't know it's just intimidating or what. But I 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:44.360 have a boyfriend eventually, but not from school. So yeah, 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.680 I felt pretty normal, okay. And I'll say because we 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:49.840 were not one of those shows that taped in front 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:52.280 of life, suit of your audience. There, I only worked 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:54.640 on the days that I was in scenes. And if 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:58.240 you really watched the show, Winnie Cooper wasn't in that 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:01.200 many episodes until the very ill season. The sixth season, 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:03.280 I was in almost every one. But I would like 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:05.440 have a couple of weeks where I was just in school, 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.120 and then I have a week where I was only 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.280 worked two or three days. I would say I was 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:13.360 in my regular school at least half the time. Now, 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.560 it was an interesting skill set to go back and 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:19.760 forth and back and forth. It's an interesting It would 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.440 have been a little easier if I just known kind 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:22.800 of what the deal was. But I'd be in school 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:24.560 and they say, Okay, we've got a history test next Friday, 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:26.200 and I wouldn't know if I was going to be 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:27.720 there for it or not. And I remember when I 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:29.480 got to U c l A, how much of a 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:32.600 relief it was, like, Oh, wait, I can like set 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:35.480 mind the schedule. I can be dependable. I know what 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:39.600 next week looks like. Right when you start hearing things 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:43.560 on set about being America's sweetheart or whatever, when you 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:47.600 started to realize how important that relationship was too people 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.520 outside of it, do you think that that increased the 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:54.280 pressure of you portraying it or how did that affect 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:58.240 specifically your performance do you think I don't think I 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.359 was aware enough of it to have affect my performance, 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:04.840 but I did affect the way I related to the world, 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.720 especially when the show was done. I mean, even through today, 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:11.560 having a certain sense of responsibility to people because of 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:15.359 the character that I play. I mean, I'm very similar 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:17.560 to any Cooper, to be quite honest. But it also 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:20.600 just so I did have a sense of responsibility the 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.080 whole time. We just didn't affect play the role, but 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:26.000 affected me in the world. Remember where I was probably 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:29.200 fortunate or fifteen, and I was offered a contract to 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:32.879 represent some sort of granola bark and it was a 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:35.800 lot of mine. And I looked at the ingredients. I'm like, 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:37.560 with a sugar in hand, I don't like, you don't 0:17:37.560 --> 0:17:40.320 need sugar. And my mom was like really proud, and 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:41.840 I said, no, I can't. I can't tell people to 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.240 eat this because they might listen to me and this 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:46.960 isn't what I would eat, so that's not healthy. So 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:49.720 we said no, and I remember my mom was like 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:54.560 so proud because of just no understanding that I had 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.960 a responsibility to the public and I wanted to be 0:17:57.040 --> 0:17:59.760 a good leader and take this gift of being the 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:01.960 block I and do something positive with it. I mean, 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:05.119 I look and I've certainly continued that I love mathematics. 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:06.760 But what I do with that now is I don't 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.800 go in a corner and do mathematics by myself. I 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.840 have all these books to help kids. You know, I 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.480 know that that the parents normally from the Wonder Years. 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:17.560 Some of the kids normal me from my Christmas movies, 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:19.840 but the parents definitely know me from the Wonder Years. 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:22.400 And so to be able to take my position as 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.320 this public figure and people somebody who people look up to, 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:26.960 a character that people look up to you and say, oh, 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:29.320 well I can do something positive with that and help 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:32.879 these parents with you know, their kids math issues and 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:54.520 help do something to that. Well, you've transitioned beautifully. I 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:58.879 have not spoken, for sure in all of my guests 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:03.440 to a math genius until today. Um, you go to 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.399 U c l A. Well, first off, did you make 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:08.240 a conscious decision that you were going to take a 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:10.600 hiatus from acting like you were going to go to 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:14.480 school and focus on school? So I first went to 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:16.080 U c l A with the idea of being a 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.520 film major and learning the other side. And then for 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:20.600 the first year I still did jobs. I did a 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:22.520 movie with the Week for NBC, and I did like 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:24.400 an episode Bad one five, and I was doing things 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:27.920 here and there. But it's funny because I realized, wait 0:19:27.920 --> 0:19:29.800 a minute, because it was it's so stressful going back 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:32.080 and forth, not again, not knowing if you're gonna be 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:34.600 there for something, leaving town, coming back, trying to make 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:36.840 up assignments, find out what the work was, get ahead 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:39.720 of the curb. All that stuff really really tough. And 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:41.600 I was like, wait, so the wonder years and in 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:43.760 high school, like the law told you you have to 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.040 go to high school. Well now I'm an adult. I 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:47.680 don't even have to be school if I don't want 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:48.800 to be. And I don't have to take any of 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:50.440 these jobs because they're all one off jobs, and that 0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:52.600 it's less serious, Like what am I doing to myself? 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:56.480 So about a year into it, and I kept getting incomplete. 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:58.560 The professions, weren't letting me make up the exams. I'm like, what, 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:00.040 why would you just let me take it again? And 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:01.919 I'm like, well, if we just don't do that, like, Okay, 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:04.639 different fault, this is a different this is a different 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.439 landscape here. So I decided to take a break at 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:11.520 that point and just focus on school work. And at 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:14.080 that point, by that point, I had taken a math class. 0:20:14.960 --> 0:20:18.880 It was multi variable calculus, and it was as tough 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:20.720 class I was. I was so nervous about because I 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:22.680 hadn't taken math since high school. Its's been almost a 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:24.600 year since I've taken any math. Well, I still had 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:26.680 all my high school math notes, because that's just the 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:30.160 kind of first I am. And I studied them, learned 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:32.879 all the trigonometric identities for calculus, for doing integrals and 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:36.200 all that stuff, and so I get to multiple calculists 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:38.440 and I was like really prepared, and I had no 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:42.040 idea that I was so like overly prepared for this class. 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:43.800 It was a class of like a hundred and sixty 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:45.720 three people. And I remember the first mid term exam. 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:47.879 I studied so hard for that. I memorized everything, I 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:51.879 knew everything, and yet the test was ridiculously difficult. I 0:20:51.960 --> 0:20:54.359 got like a forty four or something out of a 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:57.159