Rider's Phone Phobia
For the first time, Boy Meets World star Rider Strong talks about his deepest fear.
Some people are afraid of the dark. Others are afraid of heights, crowded places or creepy critters like cockroaches. Rider Strong isn't afraid of any of these things, but he is scared of something else- something you probably use every day. "Okay, this is the first time that I will ever be honest about this," the 17-year-old actor tells BOP. "I have a fear of phones."
Rider doesn't know why he's so scared of phones. "I can't think of any rational reason," he confesses. Well, we can. We think Rider's phone phobia comes from his many uncomfortable and unpleasant experiences with phone conversations. "I don't know why, but I've had so many embarrassing experiences on the phone," he says. For instance, Rider says, he has a difficult time recognizing voices on the phone and therefore he often mistakes one caller's voice for someone else's. He'll talk for 10 minutes before the confused caller realizes Rider's mistake and corrects him. "Those are some of the most embarrassing moments of my life," Rider groans.
Calls from fans have also contributed to the actor's phone phobia. "They'll call all the Strongs listed in the phone book until they get to me," ha relates, "and I'll talk to them for a half an hour before I realize, 'Hey, I don't know this person!'" Being the trusting soul that he is, Rider assumes that when he picks up the phone and hears "Hi, Rider!" the caller is someone he knows. Once he realizes that he's mistaken, he feels foolish and, as he bluntly puts it, "stupid."
As you can understand, these experiences have made Rider so uncomfortable with phone conversations that he now avoids making calls altogether. "I can't talk on the phone. I can't- I won't- call people," he says firmly. So what does Rider do when he wants to talk to his friends? It's easy. He writes letters to those who live far from him and arranges visits with those who live nearby.
Sometimes, however, Rider has no choice- he has to make a phone call. Several days before or conversation with him, for instance, he needed to know if a particular book was being sold at a bookstore. Not wanting to waste time driving there if the book wasn't in stock, Rider realized he had to call the bookstore. "It was scary," he admits. "I was so nevrous, I was sweating!"
Although Rider doesn't like making pohne calls, he does enjoy receiving them if they're from family members, his girlfriend, Carpool and Tom and Huck star Rachel Leigh Cook*, of good friends- he knows he's not going to be embarrassed by these conversations. "A new friend of mine just gave me her phone number. I won't call her, but if she calls me, that's cool," he says. "I'll talk to her for three hours."
So if you've been sitting patienly by your phone waiting for Rider to answer your fan letter with a phone call, well, we think you should stop waiting. It's nothing personal- it's just that Rider would be much happier writing to you rather than calling you.
*Rider and Rachel have been split up for some time now.
As you can understand, these experiences have made Rider so uncomfortable with phone conversations that he now avoids making calls altogether. "I can't talk on the phone. I can't- I won't- call people," he says firmly. So what does Rider do when he wants to talk to his friends? It's easy. He writes letters to those who live far from him and arranges visits with those who live nearby.