Can anyone believe its been 25 years since we were first introduced to the wonderful Disney film The Mighty Ducks? The film was so popular it spawn two sequels and found a permanent place in all of our hearts. The ultimate underdog movie, inspiration of Coach Bombay and the Ducks themselves winning the championships from nothing is enough to make anyone chant “Ducks, Ducks Ducks” at any sporting event. We celebrate the anniversary of The Mighty Ducks by looking at what the cast of the original film has been up to in recent years.
Emilio Estevez
Estevez portrayed Coach Gordon Bombay exquisitely in the film, leading the Ducks to victory and being an inspiration to all youngsters looking to join a sporting team. Estevez experienced high success in the 90’s starring in various films like Mission: Impossible, Loaded Weapon and Judgement Night, as well as the various sequels to The Mighty Ducks. However, Estevez’s career in film has quietened in front of the camera, only doing minor cameos in television and some movies. Instead he has opted to undertake screenwriting, directing and producing films under Estevez Sheen Productions. Bobby, a film which was written and directed by Estevez received wide critical acclaim and numerous award nominations and several wins.
Joss Ackland
Ackland portrayed Coach Bombay’s mentor and friend Hans, encouraging him to follow his dreams and passion for ice hocky and coaching his team. Ackland has had numerous roles in film and television since the relase of the film, often as a supporting actor. At 89 years of age, Ackland still continues to take on roles in the industry often in English productions, with some recent credits going to Prisoners of the Sun and Katherine of Alexandria. He has also lent his voice to various audiobooks and video games, the most notable being Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.
Lane Smith
Smith’s role as rival coach Jack Reilly was excellent, showing the hard and stern coaching philosophy that many high performing coaches display, contrasted really well to Bombay’s encouraging and positive approach to coaching. Smith continued his acting career in both film and television, with his most notable role being Perry White in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Smith cameoed in other popular television shows, often in a guest role up until his unfortunate passing in 2005.
Joshua Jackson
Charlie Conway was the inspiration player on the ducks, often missing his set shots and plays, that is until the final slow motion penalty shot to win the championship. Jackson went on to land notable television roles in the 90’s, most famously that of Pacey Witter in Dawson’s Creek. He also had a steamy role in the Cruel Intentions movie. In recent years he has still been landing film and television roles, with his biggest being in Fringe playing Peter Bishop and Cole Lockhart in The Affair.
Elden Henson
Henson played Fulton Reed, the introvert who had a mean swing. Henson has had a consistent presence in film and television outside of The Mighty Ducks, although many of the films have not been commercial successes. However, in recent years Henson’s profile has risen dramatically, being cast as Foggy Nelson in the hit Netflix series Daredevil, a role he has reprised in The Defenders. He also landed the role of Pollux in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2.
Shaun Weiss
Goldberg, the goalie not the wrestler, was the typical comedy relief and perfect representation of childhood obesity. But Weiss’s character was also one of the most endearing. Weiss failed to reach the success of his other child actors, being relegated to minor television roles and commercials. His most notable role was in Freaks and Geeks. In recent years he has become embroiled in scandal, being accused of attacking his girlfriend and was even sentences to 150 days jail in 2017. Wonder if he will be playing goalie in prison?
Brandon Adams
Adams, who played Jesse Hall in the film, has been relatively quiet in recent years, staying out of the spotlight and undertaking few roles. His last feature role was in 2012’s Stuck in the Corners. In the 90’s he landed some roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sister Sister. He also lent his voice acting talents to 2005’s Kingdom Hearts II video game in which he voiced Rai.
J.D. Daniels
After playing Peter Mark, the resident loudmouth with an attitude problem, Daniels went on to use his talented voice in a more effective medium. Daniels went into voice acting work as well as Broadway productions, the most notable of which is Les Misérables as Gavroche. He voiced Arnold in the pilot episode of Hey Arnold!, as well as providing the voice of a young Jon Canmore in the animated series Gargoyles. He has been very quiet in recent years, with his most recent acting credit being in 2009 in Little New York as a vet.
Aaron Schwartz
Another overweight comedic trouble maker, Dave Karp enjoyed getting into fights with opposing teams on and off the field. Schwartz has had a quiet career going on to star in the 1995 film Heavyweights, a comedy about four obese children. He kept from the limelight until he landed a recurring role in the television series Gossip Girl as a doorman. His latest acting credit came where he played a young Ego the Living Planet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, albeit with Kurt Russell’s face imposed on him.
Margureite Moreau
Moreau has been one of the most consistently successful of the children from the Ducks movies. In the film she played Connie Moreau, better known as “The Velvet Hammer” according to Averman. She has starred in numerous movies and popular television series, with her big break coming in 2001’s Wet Hot American Summer. She also returned for the two television series based upong the movie in 2015 and 2017. She further went on to star in Queen of the Damned as Jesse Reeves. Moreau continues to pop up regularly in various television shows and is easily recognisable. Notable telvevision appearances include Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy and The People v. O.J. Simpson.
Danny Tamberelli
Tamberelli grew out of the role of little Tommy Duncan and ventured back into his Nicholodean roots having roles in All That and Figure It Out. Outside of acting Tamberelli is the bassist and singer in the Punk Rock band Jounce where they have released two EP’s and an album from 2009 to 2011. Tamberelli also used his likeness to assume the role of Jimmy De Santa in 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V. He also has a podcast with one of his former Nicholodean stars, Michael Moronna.
Matt Doherty
Lester Averman was the resident joke maker in the film, who was severely injury prone and always getting bowled over by opposing players. Generally anything that could go wrong, does go wrong with Averman. Doherty has had a quiet run in the entertainment industry since The Mighty Ducks, having small roles in many popular television series like CSI and Boston Public. He studied theatre at university. His most recent role is that of Alan Rast in the television series Rosewood.
Jane Plank
Jane played Tammy Duncan, a former figure skater who joined the Ducks after showing how she handles on the ice. Jane has stepped out of the limelight but is still in the entertainment industry, going on to become a singer-songwriter who frequently tours around Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jussie Smollett
Jussie has gone on from playing Terry Hall, the younger brother of Jessie in The Mighty Ducks, to being the son of Luscious in the hit show Empire. His career was quiet for most of the 90’s and 2000’s with Smollett starting to make a resurgence on the film scene. His latest appearance was in Alien: Covenant. While his acting career was quiet, Smollett turned to singer-songwriting where he has done collaborations with Alicia Keyes and released an EP.
Vincent La Russo
La Russo portrayed Adam Banks, a rival player who got forced to join the Ducks halfway through the season, who was initially shunned by the team. He eventually earned their respect and became a valued member of the team through his commitment to the team helping them reach the championship where he was deliberately injured by the other team. La Russo has stepped out of acting in recent years, having minor roles in Superhero Movie and Dollhouse: Haunted. He did do some writing in directing in the 90’s but essentially turned his back on acting to focus on his studies.
Talk about nostalgia! What did you think of The Might Ducks when if first came out? Do you think a fourth movie should be made with the kids as adults? Do you have a favourite moment from the original trilogy? Let us know by leaving a comment on our Facebook page and subscribe to Movie Nerds on Youtube.