Would Danica McKellar Ever Play The Wonder Years' Winnie Again? - Exclusive

Danica McKellar has come a long way since her career-launching five year stint as Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years." After the series ended, she took a break from acting to attend UCLA, where she initially planned to major in film — but to her own surprise she ended up majoring in math, which she not only enjoyed, but excelled at, according to The New York Times. Much as she loved the mental challenge, McKellar decided the often-solitary lifestyle of a math researcher wasn't for her, and she returned to the screen, this time taking grown-up roles in "The West Wing" and numerous Hallmark Channel movies, along with a stint on "Dancing With the Stars."

But McKellar hasn't forgotten her time on "The Wonder Years," and was intrigued when her former co-star, Fred Savage, told her about the launch of a reboot of the show for which he was executive producer and director. Of course, neither she nor Savage are wide-eyed adolescents anymore, but both are so strongly tied to the show that one can't help wondering if they and their characters will make an appearance. In this exclusive interview, McKellar shares her thoughts.

Danica McKellar is impressed with "The Wonder Years" reboot, which features a completely different cast and setting (though set in the same time period — the late 1960s — as the original). "I think they're doing an amazing job," she told us in an exclusive interview. "It's a very different show, but it's a great show. It's that take on a 12 year old's perspective on the world, that innocent perspective when so many big things are going on, and the priorities for the 12-year-old boy are very different."

This overall theme — the world though a 12 year old's eyes — was also a defining feature of the original show. "On our show, I remember there's tons of things going on, like with the Vietnam War and all the rest of it. But Fred Savage's character would be worried about, 'Should I call that girl or not?' And that's the headline news, and it's such a fun premise for a show,"  McKellar said. From seeing the reboot, McKellar can envision a number of ways the show can carry on in the future. "I think it can happen for lots of different types of 12 year olds and lots of different types of situations, different ethnicities, you name it," she said. "I really feel like it's a great way to look at the world."

Danica McKellar wouldn't rule out a cameo appearance on "The Wonder Years" reboot "if it's appropriate." For her, it would be important to honor the integrity and vision of the new show. "I wouldn't want to be a distraction, but sure. I mean, if they wanted me to do something, I would absolutely be on board," she told us.

Bringing back the characters of Winnie Cooper and Kevin Arnold, however, feels like a bit of a stretch to McKellar. "I don't think that we'll ever do that type of revival," she said. "Again, I'd be open to it, but there was something so special about 'The Wonder Years' as it was, and I'm not sure if we came back and all did a big reunion. Hey, 'Very, Very Wonder' — Remember that 'Very Brady Christmas,' like 'Very Wonder Christmas'? I don't know," she said. 

In short, McKellar is happy to leave the past in the past and keep the memories of that experience pristine. "There's something that you want to preserve sometimes about memories," she said. "And I feel like, the new 'Wonder Years' is such a different show that it doesn't mess with the memories. It's such a different show."

"The Winter Palace" is currently airing only on GAC Family.