Acting Savage made his film debut at the age of 9 in his elder brother
Fred Savage's
Little Monsters (1989) and appeared in the feature films ''
Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1992), as Sam, the brainy little brother, and as a 10-year-old in Clifford'' (1994), the latter starring
Martin Short. Savage's stage debut was in
The Laughter Epidemic at the
Pasadena Playhouse. He also guest starred on his brother Fred's TV series
The Wonder Years in the season three episode "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" as a
Cupid-esque character named Curtis Hartsell. His first significant speaking role on network television was playing the recurring role of Matthew, son of the
Judd Hirsch character, on the comedy series
Dear John (1988). He was one of a family of orphans who con
Robert Mitchum into being their guardian in
A Family for Joe (NBC, 1990). Savage is best known for his role as lead character Cory Matthews on the hit TV sitcom
Boy Meets World from 1993 until 2000. Savage's brother Fred appeared alongside him in one episode, guest starring as a lecherous college professor pursuing Cory's girlfriend. In the following season, Fred directed his brother and the cast in the episode "Family Trees," as Shawn (
Rider Strong) discovers that the woman who raised him is not his biological mother. Savage has also worked in several TV movies, including
She Woke Up (1992) with
Lindsay Wagner and ''McDonald's Family Theatre Presents: Aliens for Breakfast'' (1995), as a young teen whose breakfast cereal figure comes alive. Savage received critical recognition for his portrayal of Coty Wyckoff, an angel-faced boy with the soul of a killer, in the
ABC Event Series,
Wild Palms (1993). In May 1998, Savage again received critical acclaim, this time for playing Roddy Stern in
Tony Award-winner
Israel Horovitz's rarely seen play
Unexpected Tenderness at the Marilyn Monroe Theater. He received an
Ovation Award for his performance. In 2002, Savage starred in the film
Swimming Upstream playing the best friend who was slightly immature but very supportive of his terminally ill friend. Savage took a break from acting in both film and television for three years, but he later made a guest appearance in
Still Standing as Seth Cosella, the boss of Bill Miller, played by
Mark Addy. That same year he starred as Ford Davis in the independent feature
Car Babes, which was shot on location in
Los Gatos, California, and also guest starred as himself in an episode of the
Disney Channel original series
Phil of the Future. In 2006, he starred in the critically acclaimed independent film
Palo Alto, which first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007. In 2008, he starred as Mark Ratner in an episode of the NBC series
Chuck, as well as a murder suspect Kirby Morris in an episode of
Without a Trace. In 2011, he appeared in an episode of the Fox series
Bones. He also guest starred on the Disney Channel series
Shake It Up playing Andy Burns. In November 2012, Savage announced via his Twitter account that he had signed on to the
Boy Meets World spin-off series,
Girl Meets World. The series premiered on the Disney Channel on June 27, 2014, and features Savage's character Cory and his
Boy Meets World love interest Topanga (
Danielle Fishel) married in their adult years with two children. The series follows Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley (
Rowan Blanchard) as she enters middle school and tries to navigate through life. Besides being Riley's father, Cory is also her history teacher in this series; in addition to his on-screen role, Savage directed 10 episodes. The series was canceled after three seasons on January 5, 2017, with the final episode airing on January 20. Savage has, on three occasions, portrayed younger versions of characters played by
Mandy Patinkin in flashback scenes: in 2015 and 2020 in
Criminal Minds, and in 2020 in
Homeland. In 2020, Savage starred in the television film
Love, Lights, Hanukkah! for
Hallmark. In 2022, he was cast in the
Lifetime film
Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature film series where he portrays Nathaniel Kibby.
Politics Savage interned for U.S. Senator
Arlen Specter (R–PA) in 2003 as a requirement for completing his studies at
Stanford University, where he graduated in 2004 with a degree in
political science and as a member of the
Sigma Chi fraternity. In August 2022, Savage qualified as a candidate for the
West Hollywood City Council. He was not elected for one of the three at-large positions. In March 2023, Savage announced
his campaign as a
Democrat for
California's 30th congressional district, held by
Adam Schiff, who retired to run for
United States Senate. He was defeated in the primary by
state Assemblywoman Laura Friedman and five other candidates. In October 2023, Savage signed an open letter written by
Creative Community for Peace after the
October 7 attacks. The article urged Hollywood to support
Israel and support the country as it "defends itself against a terrorist regime in
Gaza that seeks Israel’s destruction." ==Personal life==