Rider Strong plays Shawn Hunter, the mischievous best friend and classmate of Cory Matthews in "Boy Meets World". Reflecting on his character, Rider states, "Like Shawn, I really care about my friends. But aside from that, I'm not really like Shawn when I'm away from the set. He's more of a wiseguy than I am, and I think I'm more up-front than he is." A native of northern California, Strong was born in San Francisco on December 11, 1979. He got his professional start at age nine, playing the role of Gavroche in the San Francisco production of "Les Miserables". Rider then segued into the role of son to the Julie Andrews character on the short-lived series, "Julie". He also landed guest star roles on series such as "Nurses", "Home Improvement", "Empty Nest", "Time Trax", "Davis Rules", "Going Places" and a recurring role on "Evening Shade". He made his feature film debut in "Benefit of the Doubt" in which he co-starred with Amy Irving and Donald Sutherland, he starred in "Summertime Switch", a ABC Family Movie and "The Last Hit" a USA Network original movie. He is currently writing a screenplay entitled "The Rain Kings" and made a guest appearance on two episodes of "Party of Five" this season. Rider developed a keen interest in the entertainment industry at an early age, when he and his older brother, Shiloh, produced home videos of stories involving super-heroes, detectives and ghosts. He loves to write and has aspiriations of writing many feature films, as well as directing for the big screen. Early in 1995, Rider and his brother Shiloh co-produced "Shades of Blue", a play written by the older sibling for a Los Angeles stage production in which they also co-starred. Currently Rider and Shiloh's production company, Redwood Shire Productions is producing two projects; one is an instructional video on inline skating and the other is a documentary entitled "To Smoke". Rider is also serving this year as the Ambassador for "The Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids". When he's not working, Rider lives with his family in a redwood forest near the rugged northern California coast. A true lover of the outdoors he enjoys backpacking, swimming, playing soccer and roller-blading, as well as reading and working with his computer. Tops on his list, however, is white-water rafting with Shiloh and his parents, King and Lin and listening to some rock groups, especially the "Counting Crows". The movie-going experience has always been oddly important to me. When I was a little kid, my parents would only take me out to the movies like every 6 months...I think that's why I'm so obsessed with it now. It's not really the movies themselves, (there have been a lot of bad movies out there lately) but the whole experience; you know: getting a huge tub of popcorn and soda, sitting down with your best friends, previews - the whole deal. I want to make movies because I want to be part of that experience for people. I want to tell my stories and of course surprise them with a reflection of reality. I guess that's every actor's/writer's/producer's/director's (whatever I become's) goal. I never watched T.V. as a kid, my parents wouldn't let me. Still don't watch it. I haven't seen an episode of Boy Meets World for years now (even though I like and support the show). Maybe there's something wrong with me. Books are a rich enjoyment in my life, tied with music as my favorite artform. I jumped to Stephen King novels in the third grade and haven't stopped reading since. I think a book can be the fastest way to change your life, if you pick the right one. I know most people hate it, but one of my favorite things is writing essays for a literature class. More often than not, pushing yourself to explore a book beyond its words can bring you so much closer to the author's intent. Next time you catch yourself closing your eyes and seeing advertising logos...read a book. It'll push you to the edge of yourself, to a place where society can't touch you. My favorites (well, at least for this week): On the Road - Jack Keruoac East of Eden - John Steinbeck Cannery Row - John Steinbeck Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton The Sleeping Dragon - Joel Rosenberg The Tao of Pooh - Benjamin Hoff I often go backpacking, and when I decide to leave everything behind and walk into the wilderness for 4-6 days with nothing but the necessities of survival, I am compelled to abandon technology. I leave all watches, pagers, cell-phones, microwaves and coffee machines behind....but I always bring a tape player. I am literally addicted to music. A friend of mine once took me aside and had a long talk with me about how he had decided I needed to take a break from music, because I really can't go more than a few hours without something beautiful filling the silence. Music can be so penetrating to the soul, and create a soundtrack for my life experience. My Top 5 Albums: Counting Crows - August & Everything After Van Morrison - Moondance Refreshments - Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy Marc Cohn - Marc Cohn Seven Mary Three - American Standard Hey, welcome to my poetry section. These are just 4 of my poems, not neccesarily my favorite, but I figured they would give you a good look at some of my stuff. I must forewarn you that there is some swearing in here, but I figured you would be more interested in reading my poetry than getting a censored version of it. The language of my poetry is always there for a reason. In the case of the poem about my hometown, the cussing is the slang of the teenage inhabitants of my town, and I use it only to exemplify my point. If you are easily offended by swearing, please avoid my poetry.
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