Adam Scott and Rider Strong. Shutterstock(2)
Getting it off his chest! Adam Scott opened up about an awkward moment he had with Boy Meets World alum Rider Strong while appearing as a recurring character on the sitcom nearly three decades ago.
Scott, 49 — who played Griff Hawkins on the show — recalled the incident during a Monday, January 23, appearance on the rewatch podcast “Pod Meets World.”
“Literally this has been tugging at me for 29 years. … It was the season finale of season 2,” the Parks and Recreation alum told his former costars Strong, 43, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle. He explained that the cast and crew began high fiving and hugging each other after wrapping the final scene — but when he congratulated Strong, the Irish Twins actor allegedly blew him off.
“I go in and hug you and as I do that, you push me off and you give me this look, like, ‘Wait a second who the f—k are you?’ and then you run away,” Scott claimed.
Strong, for his part, had no memory of the interaction, wondering aloud, “Are you serious? Why would I do that?” The Kim Possible alum added: “That actually doesn’t sound like me at all, ’cause I’m generally a hugger!”
The former castmates had a good laugh over the story — and Scott even got some closure.
“I’m so glad you don’t remember that because to some extent that means it wasn’t a traumatic experience for you,” the Severance star quipped. “[You were] a little kid, and I was this stranger grown up. Again, I had no idea what I was supposed [to do]. It seemed like we were all supposed to be joyous and hug each other. Oh, God, it was horrifying.”
Adam Scott at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards, January 2023. Hunter Abrams/Shutterstock
Although Strong insisted he didn’t recall the exchange, he offered the Stepbrothers actor an apology. “Like I said, that totally doesn’t sound like me at all. I’m so sorry,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Scott has admitted to an embarrassing moment on set. The California native previously shared an experience he had while filming season 2 of Big Little Lies that left him reeling for months.
“One time, Reese Witherspoon and I were shooting a scene. It was the last scene we had together for season 2 and it was a scene in a therapist’s office. In between takes, she said something funny,” he recalled during a July 2019 appearance on Conan.
The Knocked Up actor continued: “A string of snot, like, came out [when I laughed] and then wrapped around my nose. And I just excused myself, went and found the makeup person, got a Kleenex and wiped it off.”