Josh Saviano (born March 31, 1976) is an American lawyer and former

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

who played Kevin Arnold's best friend, Paul Pfeiffer, in the ABC television show ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl X ...

''.

Early life

Saviano was born in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

and raised in

North Caldwell, New Jersey North Caldwell is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,694, an ...

. He is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. As a child, he played soccer.

Acting

His role in ''The Wonder Years'' was one of his few television or movie roles. When he was not filming for ''The Wonder Years'', he attended school in New Jersey. His first television appearance was a one-line role in a commercial for Aim toothpaste. Saviano's other roles were as Kid Belz in the movie '' The Wrong Guys'' in 1988 and Max Plotkin in the made-for-TV movie ''

Camp Cucamonga ''Camp Cucamonga'' (also titled: ''How I Spent My Summer'' and ''Lights Out'') is a made-for-television movie that first aired on NBC on September 23, 1990. The family film served primarily as a vehicle to cast a variety of stars from popular T ...

'' in 1990. He appeared in an uncredited cameo in the 1989 movie '' The Wizard'' starring Fred Savage. He guest starred on the show ''

The Ray Bradbury Theater ''The Ray Bradbury Theatre'' is an anthology series that ran for three seasons on Crave (TV network), First Choice Movie Central, Superchannel in Canada and HBO in the United States from 1985 to 1986, and then on USA Network, running for four ad ...

'' in 1989 as Willie and on ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterward PBS Kids from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes ...

'' and '' Fun House'' as himself. Saviano once starred in a television commercial for the Oldsmobile Silhouette. After ''The Wonder Years'' ended in 1993, Saviano stopped acting, went to college and became a lawyer, but from 2014 to 2015, Saviano returned to television in three episodes of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', where his character mimicked him in real life, as an attorney.

Later career

Saviano majored in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he became president of

Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1869. Since its founding, Sigma Nu has chartered more than 279 chapters across the United States and Ca ...

fraternity. Upon graduation in 1998, he worked for a while as a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

for a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

law firm. In 2000, he worked for an Internet firm before earning a J.D. degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

. He was admitted to the bar in New York. He joined the law firm Morrison Cohen LLP becoming a Senior Counsel in 2011 and Partner in 2013. He left Morrison Cohen in 2015 to found two start-up endeavors: law firm JDS Legal and celebrity brand consultancy Act 3 Advisors.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

*
Photos and a small article on Josh Saviano
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saviano, Josh 1976 births Living people 20th-century American male actors American lawyers American male child actors American male television actors Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni Male actors from White Plains, New York Yale University alumni