During an interview with TV Insider, Danica McKellar recalled how she landed the role of Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years." The actor revealed that the part was supposed to be just a one-episode role, which is something her mother had a strict rule about. "My mother had a rule. This was going to be a hobby only. No series regular auditions, and no auditions for feature films that would take us out of town," she recalled. However, after getting the part, the character of Winnie ended up being a series regular, which skyrocketed Danica's career.
McKellar admitted that both she and her sister Crystal McKellar read for the role of Winnie and were subjected to several rounds of auditioning before they were the only two girls left. They were both asked to read with Fred Savage, and it was Danica that the showrunners chose for the part. "Four days into shooting, the producers approached my mom and said, 'We think that Danica and Fred have this amazing chemistry. We want to offer her a series regular role. The network has approved it,'" she explained. "My mom was like, 'Oh, we don't do that.' I was like, 'Please, please please!'"
However, Crystal wasn't left out in the cold. The producers liked her so much that they wrote a role just for her.
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