It’s common knowledge that shock rocker turned garbage human Marilyn Manson played the character Paul on the late eighties/early nineties coming-of-age comedy “The Wonder Years”. We all heard this fact from trusted sources, be they older siblings or classmates, and know it to be true, so any kind of actual fact-checking would just be a waste of time. Did you know, however, that Paul wasn’t the only character portrayed by Manson? Here are five others that you might not’ve been aware of:
- Norma Arnold
That’s right, Marilyn Manson also played the character of Norma. This must have been quite the adjustment for the purveyor of such twisted and evil music to act as the notoriously happy and optimistic mother of Kevin, the show’s main character, but we’ve gotta say, he really pulled it off. At no point during our viewing of this series did we suspect that she was the same person we would see in the music video for “The Beautiful People” just a few short years later.
- Jeff Billings
What, you thought Kevin’s friend Jeff, whom Kevin tries to hook up with the new girl in school in Season 6, was played by famed Scientologist Giovanni Ribisi? Think again, bud, because that is clearly Marilyn Manson who’s unable to get over his girlfriend from back home, and he does a fantastic job conveying it, too. No disrespect to Ribisi, but we definitely don’t think he had the chops for this role, anyway.
- Ed Cutlip
Whoa, Marilyn Manson played both Kevin’s best friend and his gym teacher? You bet he did, and he was incredibly convincing as the insecure and oftentimes cruel instructor who later shows his soft side when Kevin discovers him working as a part-time department store Santa. We’ve heard alleged domestic abusers tend to have inferiority complexes, so perhaps this is where the real-life Manson derived some of his influence.
- Winnie Cooper
You guessed it, Marilyn Manson portrayed Kevin’s love interest as well as his best friend. The decision for this casting is actually kind of befuddling, as the number of scenes involving both Winnie and Paul is too many to count, and the editing must’ve been a fucking nightmare, but hey, who are we to argue with genius? We have to admit that he was excellent in this role, and the constant on-again/off-again romance between Winnie and Kevin had us on the edge of our seats.
- Mr. Cantwell
And here you thought this was notable actor and creator of dipshit religious documentaries Ben Stein showing film strips while speaking in a monotone voice. Nope, that’s obviously none other than Marilyn Manson you’re seeing as Kevin’s bespectacled high school science teacher. It looks like you’re the one who needs glasses!
There you have it! Hopefully, this provided you with some additional insight into your cherished childhood TV show. Stay tuned for our retrospective on the Munchkin that definitely hanged himself in the background of “The Wizard of Oz”.
