Danielle Fishel was threatened with firing on first day of ‘Boy Meets World’

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Danielle Fishel had to learn from a young age what it took to succeed in the cutthroat world of Hollywood.
The “Boy Meets World” star told Fox News Digital that on her first day on set as a preteen, she was told she would be fired if she didn’t improve.
“When I got this job at 12, I hadn’t worked much,” she explained alongside her “Dancing with the Stars” partner, Pasha Pashkov.
She continued: “I had done mostly commercials and a few episodes of ‘Full House.’ So coming on this set and trying to navigate all of that, the expectations were very high.”
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Danielle Fishel said she was almost fired after her first day on the set of “Boy Meets World.” (Getty Images)
The 44-year-old said she “was told from day one that if I didn’t come back the next day and do things completely differently, I was going to be fired.”
She stayed up until 4 a.m. going over her lines with her mother, “and wanted so badly to impress the producers the next day. And I did, and it turned into a seven-year job.”
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Fishel played Topanga Lawrence from 1993 to 2000.
She said that while joking about it, she knew “Boy Meets World” would be the first sentence in her obituary.
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Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Ben Savage on the set of ‘Boy Meets World’. (Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“It’s the defining aspect of my career, and Topanga is so close to me as a person, it’s almost like I don’t know where she ends and I begin,” she said.
The actress, who is one of 10 remaining “Dancing With the Stars” contestants, still holds “Boy Meets World” close to her heart.
For the show’s “Dedication Night” this week, Fishel paid tribute to 98-year-old actor William Daniels, who played the ’90s series’ wise-cracking professor Mr. Feeny.

William Daniels as Mr. Feeny and Danielle Fishel as Topanga in a 1993 episode of “Boy Meets World”. (ABC Photo Archive/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Daniels actually joined Fishel on stage as she danced to the show’s theme song, giving her an “A” at the end of her jive.
Fishel said she first thought about honoring her mother-in-law, who died of cancer, for the book signing, but when she found out the person was going to come out and dance with her, she realized Daniels would be perfect.
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Danielle Fishel and Ben Savage on the first season of “Boy Meets World” in 1993. (ABC Photo Archive/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“That same night, I said, ‘Who better than Bill,’ who is, you know, I call him the patriarch of the show that changed my life, and who is the shining example of professionalism that I’ve modeled my entire career after.”
She continued, “When we all started the show and I was 12 years old and, you know, I didn’t know what it meant to be a professional, we would laugh and we would joke and we would mess up our lines and we would hold our scripts and we would dance and we would have a party.”
But she said Daniels always knew his lines and “rarely needed a script in hand.”

Danielle Fishel and “Dancing With the Stars” partner Pasha Pashkov dressed as Cory and Topanga from “Boy Meets World” for “Dedication Night.” (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
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“He knew what he was doing,” she said. “And he very easily could have criticized us or dismissed us as 12-year-olds. And he never did that.”
Daniels always treated her younger peers with “respect” and as a “peer,” she added.
She noted that Daniels had already won two Emmys for “St. Elsewhere” when he started “Boy Meets World.” “And yet he treated me, a 12-year-old, with no experience as his peer. And I don’t think he realized as a kid how special that was, but he did as an adult.”

Danielle Fishel and Pasha Pashkov with “Dancing With the Stars” host Alfonso Ribeiro last month. (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
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“I have thought of him on every set I have been on, both as an actor and as a director, since the day I met him,” she added.




