The Mighty Ducks star Shaun Weiss has spoken out about returning to the ice skating rink a whopping 30 years after he first broke out as a star in the beloved film.
He starred as the youth ice hockey team’s goalie, Goldie, a “lazy character” who developed into an essential member of the Mighty Ducks – and is stepping back into Goldie’s skates for a brand promotion.
In the years since his breakout role, Weiss’ has undergone a transformation in his personal life, overcoming a public battle with addiction.
Watch the video above
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The actor, who is now 45, spoke on the Today Show about how his life has changed.
“I would say that when I was using drugs, life for me was Murphy’s law. Like anything that could go wrong went wrong and now that I got clean, I’m just in tune with life and it’s almost the exact opposite,” he shared.
“Anything that can happen right is kind of happening in my sobriety. And that the getting back on the ice for the first time in 30 years is a prime example of that.”
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He shared that he was initially as terrified as his character Goldie was about getting back on the ice, which he has done as promotions for odour-eliminating product brand FunkAway.
“Last time I skated was the final day of filming D3,” the actor shared in a heartfelt Instagram post last week.
“It’s like riding a bike. With bones that have aged 30 years. 🤷. Such a blast working on promos for FunkAway. Thanks for giving me a reason to lace up. 🤑.”
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Now he reveals that “getting back out there, it really was like riding a bike. And after about 10-15 minutes, I was skating around again, like 30 years was nothing.”
Weiss, who was only 13 years old when he was first cast, also reflected on his time as a child actor, sharing that he “didn’t really understand the magnitude of it all at the time”.
“I don’t think there was any way that I could have known what it would turn into and what the impact would be, especially all these years later.
“And definitely, I couldn’t have predicted how meaningful the support of the fans would have been in my own life. So it’s really just been a blessing being a part of something that people have such fond memories of.
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“I go out to these conventions, these autograph signings and it’s nothing but people just like giving me love and telling me how special those movies were to them.”
He does admit there is a dark side to Hollywood, sharing that being in the entertainment industry at such a young age “probably set me up for exposure to things like drug addiction and things like that.
“But really, for me, I was never exposed to hard drugs in Hollywood. All that stuff came sort of as a result of not working in Hollywood anymore.
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“I sort of stopped working and that sort of led to a depression which amongst other things led to like a, a perfect storm of, of issues that I just couldn’t cope with.
“And I just kind of like, lost my mind and fell off the deep end,” he shared.
“I’m just lucky that I was able to get into treatment and come out,” he added.
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The actor was arrested a number of times and at one stage was sentenced to 90 days in county jail. It was in 2020, after an arrest and a mug shot was released online, Weiss decided to get sober. He is now celebrating four years of sobriety.
He has also gotten back into acting with his project, Jesus Revolution.
“After going on set and doing that movie, I caught the bug again and just fell in love with being in movies all over again.”
If you or someone you know is in need of support for mental ill health contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. For substance abuse support contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015
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