Five casting directors recommended Fred Savage for the lead role of Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years. All five independently pointed the producers toward the same young actor, giving the creators a strong reason to investigate him.
Neal Marlens and Carol Black had not initially been familiar with Savage. They reviewed footage of him in Vice Versa, where he played Charlie Seymour alongside Judge Reinhold and Corey Haim. His natural, unforced quality convinced them that he could carry the series as an adolescent narrator and central character.
Savage was also known for playing the grandson in The Princess Bride, released in 1987. He was only eleven when The Wonder Years premiered, yet he became the emotional center of a show about growing up, family tension, friendship, first love, and social change.
The number is sometimes misremembered as three or seven because casting searches often involve many agents and auditions. In this account, the notable figure is five casting directors, all recommending Savage.