Danica McKellar Battles SyFy's 'Tasmanian Devils' (VIDEO)
Danica McKellar won over audiences with her portrayal of Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years," but will take on a much different role tomorrow night. She will star alongside Apolo Ohno in the SyFy original movie "Tasmanian Devils."
"I think it was the people; the people– the actors were really fun to work with and the crew was amazing," McKellar told Hollywood Soap Box in an interview when asked why she decided to participate in the film. "Everybody was collaborative, the director was great, the producers were great, all the actors had such a great attitude."
"We all knew that we were coming together to make a film that's just going to be fun, entertaining, and it was a joy. It was a real joy. Everyone was really super sweet. And I got to bring my son on set a couple times, so that was kind of fun, too," McKellar explained.
She had previously only held guest roles on TV series, including CBS' "NCIS," but decided to take on another lead role for SyFy. It's a definite break from her sweet-as-pie role of Winnie Cooper, who won the heart of Fred Savage on the "Wonder Years."
For several years, McKellar took time off to earn her degree in mathematics from UCLA. After that, she wrote four books encouraging young people to study mathematics and apply it to life as well. Three of the four books were popular enough to make it to The New York Times' bestseller list for children.
McKellar has also been through a marriage and divorce; she married Mike Verta in 2009 but divorced in June 2012. They have one child, Draco, who recently turned two years old.
The SyFy website describes the movie's plot: "Tasmanian Devils go wild after a taste of human blood." It's up to McKellar and Ono to deal with the little devils and save their community.
"Tasmanian Devils" premieres Jan. 19 at 9:00 ET on the SyFy channel.
Watch a preview of the film HERE:
