No two “Wonder Years” are alike.
Just ask Dule Hill and Elisha “E.J.” Williams, the stars of the ABC reboot.
In the sitcom, they play a father and his son during the 1960s. Unlike their characters, the two spent a good chunk of their early years as actors.
Hill, in fact, starred in “The Tap Dance Kid” on tour and “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk” on Broadway. Williams has been on a string of children’s shows.
“Not everybody lives the same life,” Williams says. “You have some kids who aren’t even in the entertainment business and are still homeschooled, so one person’s normalcy isn’t another person’s normalcy.”
Adds Hill: “Broadway was added to what already was there. I have so many memories of growing up in my hometown of Sayreville, New Jersey, with my cousins and friends riding a bike in the park, getting into trouble. The core of it is the same, which is family.”
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Actors Dulé Hill and EJ Williams talk about what the wonder years meant to them growing up. They now act together in the show “The Wonder Years.”
In the ABC series, Hill plays a music professor who gets an opportunity to write songs for Marvin Gaye. He takes his son with him to New York and the two encounter people who weren’t part of the original “Wonder Years,” which aired in the 1980s and 1990s.
“The possibilities are endless,” Hill says. “Writers have endless imagination, so you never know where a story could land.”
In the New York episode, the two got to spend even more time together.
They’ve bonded in different ways and now Williams ask non-showbiz advice.
“I started this show when I was 11,” Williams says. “I’m 14 now and I’m asking him for facial hair tips. He’s a great person, a genuine person. We’re one big happy family.”
Actresses advise and learn from each other during “The Wonder Years”
In return, Hill says, he has learned how to be persistent. “He had this goal of being a comedian and he keeps working at it. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. And again and again.”
That early start to their careers is a common bond. “I started as a young actor and, seeing where he is, there are a lot of things that I can relate to,” the former “West Wing” star says. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say I see myself reflected because I think that takes away from the gift that is E.J. But I do admire the journey that he’s on and the way he’s handling the success that he’s having.”
Key to Williams’ view of the business: Family. “His family has done a phenomenal job helping him stay connected to the real world.”
While co-star Saycon Sengbloh gets a chance to sing in a second season episode, there’s always hope that Hill will get to dance in another.
“We’ve talked about it,” Hill says. “I wouldn’t be surprised (if we’d do it, it’d be) in the midst of one of (Williams’ character’s) flights of fancy.”
That jibes with Williams’ view of the show – and the business. Like Hill, “I’m never trying to stay in one box just to be in the industry,” Williams says. “In real life, you never want to stick to one thing unless that’s absolutely what you love. Right now, putting smiles on people’s faces is my passion. It’s what I love to do.”
