When Jaleel White was 12 years old, he was cast as lovable nerd Steve Urkel on the '90s sitcom Family Matters. He was 21 years old when the show ended.
“I always felt safe and protected on set,” White, 47, told TODAY.com.
He paused, then added, “I was lucky.”
White hints at the explosive documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which details allegations of abuse and exploitation at Nickelodeon.
“Child actors are at a moment where the harsher realities of our business are exposed,” White said, likening it to the #MeToo movement against sexual assault.
In his upcoming memoir, “Growing Up Urkel,” White says he admires mothers and fathers who worked proactively to protect their children, rather than trying to become famous themselves. There is.
“Some of the parents dressed so flashy that they thought they were stars,” White recalled. “They also seemed to be putting their own interests ahead of the children's.”
White says her mother, Gail, who was also her manager, “never had any desire to be famous.”
“She wasn't perfect, but she was good enough to protect me from the obvious trappings of business,” he says. “First of all, she was a helicopter mom. Children who are left alone are more likely to be targeted by predators, so she was crazy about my ass.”
White remembers hearing about other child actors who had no spending limits and were allowed to be out all night.
“They had freedom that I didn't have,” he said, noting that his curfew was always tailored to his shoe size.
“When I was in ninth grade, I wore a size 9 and had to be home by 9 o’clock,” he says.
White says he never thought about becoming a stage dad himself. Her daughter Samaya, 14, with ex-partner Bridget Hardy, has no intention of entering show business.
“People have been asking her since she was little and she always said 'no!'”
As for his story, White says he's looking forward to seeing a different side of himself in this memoir.
“Everyone knows me as this iconic character,” he says. “This book will give readers a big look behind the curtain at what happened when the cameras stopped.”
“Growing Up Urkel” is available for pre-order at JaleelWhite.com.
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