‘Boy Meets World’: Danielle Fishel Was Almost Fired on Her First Day as Topanga Lawrence, Bonnie Morgan Was
Danielle Fishel is Topanga Lawrence to Boy Meets World fans. From the pilot episode through the finale, Fishel portrayed Cory Matthew’s love interest, Topanga. She also appeared in the reboot, Girl Meets World, to reprise the role. Fishel was not the first Topanga Lawrence, though. The part originally went to Bonnie Mogran, but she was fired after her first day on the set. Fishel revealed in a different podcast episode that she was close to being booted from the part, too.
Bonnie Morgan was set to portray Topanga Lawrence on ‘Boy Meets World’ until she wasn’t
Bonnie Morgan appeared on Pod Meets World last week to chat with Fishel and her cohosts, Rider Strong and Will Friedle. Morgan recalled her first and only day on the set of Boy Meets World. The actor and contortionist recalled how everything went well when she landed the part, but her first day on the set was strange and oddly tense. She remembered how angry and short the crew was with her and how David Trainer, the show’s director, grew frustrated with her during the table read.
Morgan remembered heading home after a day on the set, assuming everything was still fine. She was fired the following day. While Trainer originally insisted Morgan was let go because she couldn’t “follow directions,” he eventually fessed up to not liking her look. While it’s been 30 years, Morgan is still rightfully angry that the director so blatantly lied about the reason for her departure from the show. She reiterated that Trainer had her fired because he didn’t think she, at 12 years old, was “pretty enough.”
Fishel was brought on to fill Morgan’s spot as Topanga Lawrence on Boy Meets World, but her job wasn’t always secure either. In a previous podcast episode, Fishel said she was fearful for her job, too. She revealed that her speedy speech annoyed the show’s creator. Danielle Fishel recalled working with her mother to slow down her speaking to help her keep the job. It worked out. Fishel learned to slow down, and show creator, Michael Jacobs, learned to accept her as Topanga.
Where is Bonnie Morgan now?
While Morgan was unceremoniously dismissed from the set of Boy Meets World, she didn’t slink away from Hollywood. Morgan has acted in over 60 projects and appeared as a stunt woman in dozens more. She’s also worked steadily as a contortionist. Still, she has yet to find the longstanding success that comes with a beloved TV series.
Despite spending much of her life in the entertainment business and having success since Boy Meets World, Morgan admitted to resenting the series. She said that she never spoke about her experience on the set because she liked Fishel. Morgan clarified that she did not want to disrespect Fishel or the part she played.
