Rider Strong

Rider Strong is an American actor from San Francisco. He has often worked as a voice actor in animated series. His best known roles were those of rebellious teenager Shawn Hunter in the sitcom "Boy Meets World" (1993-2000), football quarterback Brick Flagg in the action comedy series "Kim Possible" (2002-2007), and demon prince Tom Lucitor in the magical girl series "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" (2015-2019). In 1979, Strong was born in the city of San Francisco, a financial center in California. The city has been an important port city since the mid-19th century, and used to be the city with the highest population in the West Coast of the United States. Rider's father was the firefighter King Arthur Strong, while his mother was teacher and nutritionist Lin Warner. Both of his parents were from Pennsylvania, but had moved to California during their working lives. Rider has primarily English and Irish ancestry. Rider started his career as a child actor c. 1988. He took part in a theatrical adaptation of "Les Misérables", playing the street child and revolutionary Gavroche Thénardier. In the original novel, Gavroche is abandoned by his abusive parents, joins the anti-monarchist June Rebellion (1832), and gets killed while participating in a street fight. Strong started appearing in minor television roles in the early 1990s, guest-starring in then-popular series such as "Going Places", "Bobby's World", and "Home Improvement". He gained his first regular television role in the short-lived sitcom "Julie" (1992). He played Adam McGuire, stepson of the protagonist Julie Carlisle (played by Julie Andrews). The series was canceled due to low ratings, and only 7 episodes were ever produced. Strong made his film debut in the thriller film "Benefit of the Doubt" (1993). He played Pete Braswell, son of the protagonist Karen Braswell (played by Amy Irving). In the film, Karen gets reacquainted with her estranged father Frank (played by Donald Sutherland) who was incarcerated for 20 years as the main suspect in a murder. Frank tries to convince his family that he was innocent, but there are circumstantial evidence that he was a serial killer. The film was produced by the German film production company CineVox (1983-1999), and its distribution rights were acquired by Miramax. Strong received his big break when cast as Shawn Hunter in the then-new sitcom "Boy Meets World" (1993). In contrast to the neurotic main character Cory Matthews, Shawn was depicted as rebellious and prone to risk-taking. Shawn was depicted as the son of a troubled family, having an alcoholic father and a mother who run away for extended periods. The sitcom turned out to be a ratings hit, ranking in the top 50 shows for its first 4 seasons. It lasted for 7 seasons and 158 episodes, covering the lives of the main characters from middle school to their college years. Strong became a household name and was among the most prominent members of the cast. During, the last few seasons of "Boy Meets World", Strong attended morning classes at Occidental College, a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles. He later attended Columbia University as an English major, graduating in 2004. In 2009, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction and literature at Bennington College. During his college years, Strong starred in the horror comedy film "Cabin Fever" (2002). It depicted vacationing college students becoming infected with a flesh-eating virus. The film took inspiration from real-life skin infections. It was filmed on a small budget and earned 30.6 million dollars at the worldwide box office. Strong had a recurring role in the animated series "Kim Possible" (2002-2007), voicing football quarterback Brick Flagg. Brick was depicted as the slow-witted and kind boyfriend of Bonnie Rockwaller, one of the series' main supporting characters. The character of Brick was written out of the series in 2004, having graduated high school. Strong was cast in a regular role in the short-lived comedy-drama series "Pepper Dennis" (2006). He played professional cameraman Chick Dirka, who regularly worked with television reporter Pepper Dennis (played by Rebecca Romijn). Chick's unrequited love for Pepper was a plot point. The series lasted for a single season and 13 episodes. It was one of the last shows broadcast on the network "The WB", which shut down in 2006. Strong co-directed the short film "Irish Twins" (2008), which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film won a number of film awards at film festivals. He returned to acting with a starring role in the science fiction horror film "Darkening Sky" (2010), which focused on the topics of alien abductions and unreliable memories. In October 2013, Strong married his long-term girlfriend, the actress Alexandra Barreto. They were involved in a romantic relationship since 2006. In 2014, Strong joined the cast of the sitcom "Girl Meets World" (2014-2017). The series was a sequel to "Boy Meets World", and focused on a daughter of Cory Matthews. Strong returned to the role of Shawn Hunter, depicted as a professional writer and a photographer. During the series, Shawn served as a father figure, to troubled teenage girl Maya Hart (played by Sabrina Carpenter). Shawn officially adopted Maya during the series finale. The series lasted for 3 seasons and 72 episodes. There were reportedly plans for a 4th season, but no network was interested in financing it. In 2015, Strong joined the cast of the animated series "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" (2015-2019), voicing the demon prince Tom Lucitor. He was depicted as the ex-boyfriend of extra-dimensional princess Star Butterfly (played by Eden Sher) who sets out to regain her love. The character's flaws included lifelong anger-management issues and recurring jealousy towards Star's other love interest. The series lasted for 4 seasons and 77 episodes. Strong has not been particularly active during the 2020s, having no prominent roles. By 2022, he was 42-years-old and it is unclear whether he has further career plans. He remains popular due to his past roles in television, and his involvement with several popular series over the decades.