Whatever Happened To Goldberg From Mighty Ducks?
This article contains discussions of drug addiction.
Shaun Weiss is an actor and comedian most known for his role as Greg "Goldie" Goldberg in Disney's "The Mighty Ducks" trilogy, a set of sports movies about a youth hockey team. Across the three films, audiences can watch Weiss play Goldberg, the team's goaltender and the wearer of jersey no. 33. Though the hockey film was his first movie role, the young actor had been on television before his big break with "The Mighty Ducks."
After the trilogy, Weiss moved on to other projects, appearing in other films and returning to television before his career on screen stagnated. However, that doesn't mean the actor wasn't continuing to act and work on his comedy skills during this time. In a life filled with highs and lows, Weiss has experienced a great deal since audiences saw him as a hockey player.
Though the road was a bumpy one, Weiss has returned to the big screen with the movie "Jesus Revolution" and is starting to tour with his stand-up comedy act. Here's what the actor has been up to since he was saving pucks on "Mighty Ducks."
He appeared in a cult classic TV series
After appearing in three "Mighty Ducks" movies, Shaun Weiss appeared in other big-name projects. Some of his first roles were on television, including a six-episode stint in "Pee-wee's Playhouse" as a character named Elvis, and he continued to appear on the small screen. At the turn of the century, he was in five episodes of "Freaks and Geeks," the now cult-classic one-season-wonder teen comedy, playing a character named Sean.
Sean is a member of the band Creation. He is the bass guitar player. The band was started as a way for the "Freaks" to have a space to be themselves, but Nick (Jason Segel) makes that difficult with how seriously he takes the band. He's scared of his dad (Kevin Tighe) sending him to military school after graduating, and he hopes that if his band is good enough, it'll kick off a career in music instead. The other band members aren't on board, though, and over the course of the season, the band eventually breaks up since they all have different goals. That isn't before, however, audiences see Sean's skills on the bass.
He starred alongside another child star in a film
The "Mighty Ducks" films weren't the last movies Shaun Weiss appeared in. At the end of his heyday, the actor appeared alongside another popular child actor, Christina Ricci, in the 2002 movie "Pumpkin." The movie stars Ricci as Carolyn McDuffy, a sorority member and college student who falls for Jesse "Pumpkin" Romanoff (Hank Harris), a competitor in the Challenged Games (the movie's version of the Special Olympics). Weiss has a minor role as Randy Suskind, a teammate of Romanoff's.
Audiences and critics alike were not impressed with the film. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a 36% on the Tomatometer, though the audience gives "Pumpkin" a bit more credit with a 57% based on over 10,000 ratings. "As PC busting goes, this first feature directed by Tony R. Abrams and scribe Adam Larson Broder shoots at close range," Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote for Entertainment Weekly. "But that still doesn't get them off the hook for the dragging, lurching look and shape of the storytelling, or for the challenged, unsure performances of the actors."
While most critics rated the film poorly, famed critic Roger Ebert had a different perspective. "'Pumpkin' is alive, and takes chances, and uses the wicked blade of satire in order to show up the complacent political correctness of other movies in its campus genre. It refuses to play it safe," Ebert wrote. "'Pumpkin' may make you mad, but at least you're not angry because it wasn't trying."
He had some guest TV roles
Even if you don't know the actor from his role in "The Mighty Ducks," you may recognize Shaun Weiss from his various episodic roles across popular television series of the late 1990s and 2000s. From "The King of Queens" to "Crossing Jordan," Weiss has appeared in a variety of popular shows.
In Kevin James' series "The King of Queens," the actor appears in three different episodes in Seasons 1 and 5, playing a different background character in each. In the NBC sitcom "City Guys," Weiss appears as a delivery guy in four separate episodes across Seasons 4 and 5. "Boy Meets World" fans may remember him as Louie from two episodes in Season 6. The actor also appeared as Jake Mandelleer for eight episodes in the late-'90s sitcom "Mr. Rhodes."
Sitcoms aren't the only shows Weiss has appeared in. Crime drama fanatics might remember him from his one-episode role as Brian Osguld in the sixth season of "Crossing Jordan." Those that love comedy-dramas might know Weiss from a Season 3 episode of "Las Vegas." He even did an episode of the MTV anthology series "Undressed." Chances are audiences have seen Weiss since his days in "Mighty Ducks" in one of his many TV appearances, even if they're all minor or background roles.
He wrote and produced a horror movie
Shaun Weiss has also flexed his abilities behind the camera. He wrote and produced the 2012 film "Encounters," co-written with director Robert Mishovski and visual effects compositor Sean W. Adair. The story follows a young man named Tobi (Tobi-Wan Rodriguez) trying to find out what happened to his sister, who was killed six years before. His intention for recording his journey (it's a found-footage horror film) is to have evidence to give the police when he solves the case. He's accompanied by his best friend (Steve Perse), his girlfriend (Pamela Cohen), and some psychics to a cabin he believes holds the key to his sister's death.
The few reviews the movie has on Letterboxd are overwhelmingly negative, with its highest review giving it two out of 10 stars. "The credits listed a script supervisor and I laughed out loud," wrote user Brandy Stoddard. "No one was supervising anything on this." Another half-star review from user Samuel Guglielmo states "Encounters" is "up there as one of the worst Bad Movie Night movies." The film is currently available to stream on some free, ad-supported streaming platforms, and you can rent it from Amazon if you want to judge it for yourself.
He appeared in a few shorts
Though he hasn't appeared on television or in movies for a bit, Shaun Weiss has still been stretching his acting muscles. He appeared in several shorts during the 2010s, from one about an at-home date night to another about a trio of cops on a case. Weiss stars as Deke alongside Kirk Fox in "The Worst Thing I've Ever Done," directed by Joe Battaglia, in 2014. The same year, he appeared as a cop alongside Chris Moss and Isabelle Loeb in "Line of Duty."
In 2016, he played one of the lead characters in the short "Netflix & Chill," written by, directed by, and co-starring Los Angeles-based comedian Chad Meisenheimer. The under-five-minute piece follows Shaun (Shaun Weiss) trying to "Netflix and chill" with his lactose-intolerant girlfriend Jenna (Jenna Colamartino), leading to an awkward and flatulent pizza night. The short is available to watch in full on the director's YouTube page.
He had a YouTube series
In addition to shorts, Shaun Weiss started his own YouTube channel to post several episodes of the web series "Why Not Weiss" in 2015 and 2016. The semi-autobiographical series finds the fictionalized version of Weiss trying to strike gold on YouTube. Over the span of five episodes, Weiss tries to start a podcast, hires a personal assistant, hangs out with his comedy buddy, deals with a breakup, and takes care of his father. The goal of the series is to help Weiss rise into the public light again. Each episode is between 12 and 15 minutes long, providing just over an hour of content for die-hard fans of the actor to enjoy.
In one of the two pitch videos on the channel, Weiss and Sean Adair share that "Louie" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" are their influences for the web series. The channel also houses what is marked as a Patreon exclusive video featuring Shaun Weiss doing a stand-up comedy performance at the Headroom Gallery in 2015 and a 30-second clip humorously accusing David Ayer, writer and director of the 2016 movie "Suicide Squad," of using their line "no money no honey" from the fourth episode of "Why Not Weiss" in the DC film. The series ran from November 2015 to April 2016, and the largest view count of the five episodes is 7.3 thousand views.
He had some trouble with the law
Shaun Weiss ran into some legal trouble in his adult life. In July 2017, the actor was arrested for stealing $151 in merchandise from Fry's Electronics. He entered a plea of no contest to a petty theft charge. Though sentenced to 150 days in jail, Weiss was only locked up for 12 days before being released from the Los Angeles County Jail because the jail was overcrowded.
Five days after his release the actor was arrested again. After reports that he was shambling around yards in an L.A. neighborhood, Weiss was arrested and booked with possession of a controlled substance. People reported that the substance was methamphetamine. The Burbank Police Department shared with E! News that the actor was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
A year later, in August 2018, Weiss was arrested for public intoxication in Oroville, California. TMZ reported that he was not charged or sentenced, he just "spent a few hours in the drunk tank," according to information the site received from law enforcement. In January 2020, the actor was arrested again in Marysville, California. In this case, Weiss was charged with being under the influence of methamphetamine and residential burglary after the police responded to a call about a burglary in process in the early morning hours.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
He went to rehab and got sober
After his arrest in 2018, Shaun Weiss announced on his Facebook page that he was entering a "well regarded, long term rehabilitation center" (via Entertainment Tonight). Amid his multiple arrests, Weiss was reportedly homeless and struggling with mental illness and diabetes. When he was arrested again in 2020, he was released from his sentence early to enter a recovery facility. The actor was planned to spend at least 90 days in a Southern California rehabilitation clinic. He also received an offer for an all-expenses-paid stint at the Texas-based rehabilitation facility Ascend Detox and Recovery.
After entering the rehabilitation facility in March 2020, he finished the drug court program in July 2021. Weiss' burglary charge was dropped after completing the program and receiving his certificate from the Yuba County Superior Court judge. TMZ reported that the District Attorney's Office of Yuba County, California commented that the actor "demonstrated perseverance during his recovery complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic."
During his recovery, Weiss received reconstructive dental surgery for a new set of teeth. Previously, several of his teeth were pulled due to infection. A Los Angeles dentist, Dr. Gabe Rosenthal, offered a sponsorship between $50 thousand and $100 thousand to assist the actor in restoring his smile with dental implants.
He embraced stand-up comedy
Shaun Weiss has ventured into stand-up comedy over the years, but it wasn't until after he became sober that his career as a comedian took off. After opening for Russell Peters at Oxnard Levity Live Improv in 2022, Weiss had his own comedy tour in 2023, "The Mighty Weiss."
He uses his previous hardships in his comedy, from joking about how he looks in his mugshots to the things that make him want to use again. Weiss confirms this is his intention in an interview with American Addiction Centers in 2022, commenting that he's "working on a stand-up comedy act where [he] tell[s] his story in the funniest possible way."
In a clip shared by TMZ, viewers can watch as he highlights the TMZ articles that came out about his arrests, joking about how he "didn't even wear a disguise" while committing burglary, that there are no filters on his mugshots, and that you don't have a "drug problem" until you run out of money. The audience laughs along with Weiss, who is incredibly open about his experiences at rock bottom and what he did to support his addiction.
He returned to the screen in a hit Christian drama
After a notable absence on the screen, Shaun Weiss returned to film with the 2023 movie "Jesus Revolution." The movie, a Christian drama produced by Kingdom Story Company, follows several individuals involved with the Jesus movement that went through California in the 1960s. The project stars Joel Courtney of "The Kissing Booth" fame, Kimberly Williams-Paisley from "Nashville," and Kelsey Grammer. Weiss portrays a Vietnam veteran.
Critics and audiences disagree on the film's success. Critics give "Jesus Revolution" a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score based on over 5,000 ratings sits at 99% — which is typically how American Christian dramas are received. Leslie Felperin wrote for The Guardian that the movie "is a well-enough-made work, but one that leaves out huge chunks of relevant detail and is essentially propaganda," while Nell Minow for RogerEbert.com wrote it "is more of a wistful wish to bring in a wave of new followers than an effort to understand what they'll need once they're there." Some critics agree with the Rotten Tomatoes audience crowd, like Dennis Harvey from Variety. The reviewer calls the movie "one of the most appealing faith-based big-screen entertainments in a while, polished and persuasive without getting too preachy." Financially, the film was hugely successful, grossing over $54 million on a budget of about $15 million.
He's sober now, but he once pawned Judd Apatow's laptop to buy drugs
Shaun Weiss has been sober since January 2020. Since treatment, the actor has been open about his struggles with addiction and what it took to be on his sober journey in interviews and his comedy shows. Weiss said that trying meth for the first time felt like "instant relief" from how he was feeling about a breakup in an interview with American Addiction Centers in September 2022. He cited his addiction as a "perfect convergence" of several factors, including being homeless, his father's death, and job loss. The actor didn't have anyone to turn to, either. "I wasn't talking to my family," he said. "I really had stopped talking to my friends, so I didn't have anyone to hold me accountable." In 2024, he celebrated his sobriety anniversary with former "Mighty Ducks" castmates.
He's also opened up about what he did to feed his addiction. Weiss is known for his role in the Judd Apatow film "Heavyweights," and he and the famed director remained friends. In an interview with IndieWire in November 2022, he admitted that Apatow tried to help him, but he pawned the director's laptop for money to buy drugs.
The actor said that part of his addiction came from the adrenaline of being a child star. To help maintain his sobriety, he said, he does yoga to help his body feel the same way the drugs made him feel. "The fact that I know I can achieve those kinds of states of euphoria if I just learn how to operate this mechanism keeps me in line," he said in his American Addiction Centers interview.
He helps others with their sobriety
Shaun Weiss is helping others with their sobriety as well. On May 5, 2023, the actor posted to his Facebook page that he was now a Recovery Advocate and Alumni Supporter for Quest 2 Recovery, the Southern California rehabilitation center he went to at the start of his path to sobriety. In June of the same year, Quest 2 Recovery debuted the Keep It Clean program, with Weiss as the face of the campaign.
As part of the program, the center uses "comedy as an experiential therapy." The page on Quest 2 Recovery's website states that Weiss "aims to share the healing power of laughter with others who are facing similar challenges," much like how he uses stand-up comedy to share his story and start a new chapter in his career. In addition to being the face of the campaign, Weiss appears in several videos for Quest 2 Recovery, including an alumni story spot on the center's YouTube page. He not only stopped his drug dependency, but he remains committed to helping other people attain sobriety, too.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).