Image credit: The Star Tracker
Can a TV show save your life? That question never occurred to Cody Christian until a young fan showed him the scars on her body.
While Teen Wolf always celebrated outcasts, misfits and people who felt they didn’t belong, Christian told hundreds of fans at the Anaheim Nostalgia Con that it took an encounter with a teen girl for him to know how strongly that message resonated.
The Teen Wolf fan Cody Christian can’t forget
While the Teen Wolf panel was mostly filled with laughter and the cast sharing their favorite memories of the show, Christian grew emotional as he recalled a meaningful experience with a fan he met at a convention in Paris.
“I don't think I've ever told this story out loud. I had an experience that affected me deeply and actually shaped my entire perspective on this career,” he told the audience.
“She was probably sixteen years old. She's with a friend, broken English, and starts breaking down. She rolled up both of her sleeves, and there were scars on the top and bottom from her wrist all the way up to her elbow.”
Christian paused as he recalled the encounter, visibly emotional even years later. The once-noisy audience fell silent.
“And she shared with me that before she discovered the show, she didn't know if she was going to make it to the next day or not. She thanked me for saving her life.”
Cody Christian realized art can change lives
Christian added that the encounter changed the way he looked at his own work, and he realized that acting was more than just another job.
“At the time, I didn't even know how to process something like that. That's kind of when it hit me—the effect that something like this, this body of work, can have on individuals.”
He added that the meeting showed him how any form of storytelling can impact someone’s life beyond just entertaining them.
“You connect with your favorite TV show or whatever medium it is. When you're alone, when you're in solitude, sometimes it's strictly for entertainment, but sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's like a cathartic experience that really heals you.”
His co-star Tyler Hoechlin added, “I think one of the coolest things about what we do is knowing that in a moment where someone was maybe going through something, they felt a little less alone or a little less like it must only be them. Those are the coolest things.”
