The Mighty Ducks Child Star Shaun Weiss on Overcoming Drug Addiction

Mighty Ducks actor Shaun Weiss has spoken about his struggles in a rare television interview, two years after overcoming a serious drug addiction.

Former child star who rose to fame in 1992 playing Greg Goldberg in The Mighty Ducks and as Josh Birnbaum in the 1995 film Heavyweightshe was hooked on methamphetamine and heroin for three years before finally sobering up in 2020.

appearing in additional today On Thursday, the 44-year-old said he was grateful to get his life back and thanked his former co-stars for helping him through dark times.

Mighty Ducks actor Shaun Weiss has spoken about his struggles in a rare television interview, two years after overcoming a serious drug addiction. (Pictured on the left on Channel Nine’s Today Extra on Thursday, and on the right in 1992’s The Mighty Ducks)

“I feel better than I have in years and to be able to go back and make movies again is like a dream come true,” he told co-hosts Sylvia Jeffreys and David Campbell.

“I’ll be honest, when all that was going on, I never really thought I’d be in a place where I could look at all of that in my rear view mirror. So to be able to be here now, I feel like I have a second chance,” she added.

Weiss insisted that unlike other child stars falling on hard times, Hollywood was not to blame for her downward spiral into drugs.

Appearing on Today Extra on Thursday, the 44-year-old said he was grateful to get his life back and thanked his former co-stars for helping him through dark times.

“I feel better than I have in years and to be able to go back and make movies again is like a dream come true,” he told co-hosts Sylvia Jeffreys (center) and David Campbell (left).

‘I think [my addiction] it had less to do with Hollywood and a lot to do with other things,’ he said.

“My depression is what led to my drug addiction, and I found out after a thousand hours of therapy.”

Weiss also praised the cast and crew of The Mighty Ducks and Heavyweights for inspiring him to get sober, referring to them as his “real life family”.

“That support has really meant the world to me, because I got to a point where I didn’t really care about myself that much. But I really didn’t want to let down all these people who were supporting me,” he said.

Weiss praised the cast and crew of The Mighty Ducks for inspiring him to sober up, referring to them as his “real life family”. Pictured: The cast of D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)

He paid a special tribute to Mighty Ducks and Heavyweights star Aaron Swartz for putting together a video of the cast and crew from both films wishing him well.

‘That video was really overwhelming and it really hit me. I really needed that at the time, so those guys were there when I needed them,” she added.

Fans were shocked in 2017 when Weiss’s emaciated and unrecognizable mugshot went viral after his arrest for petty theft.

Weiss (pictured in 2015) paid a special tribute to Mighty Ducks and Heavyweights star Aaron Swartz for putting together a video of the cast and crew from both films wishing him well.

At the time, he was living on the streets due to his drug addiction and had turned to crime.

He spent 12 days in jail before being released due to overcrowding, but just five days later he was arrested again and sentenced to 90 days in prison for possession of methamphetamine.

Weiss was arrested again in January 2020, this time for residential burglary and being under the influence of methamphetamine.

Fans were shocked in 2017 when Weiss’s emaciated and unrecognizable mugshot went viral after his arrest for petty theft. At the time, she was living on the streets due to her drug addiction.

Weiss was last seen on the big screen in the 2008 film Drillbit Taylor.

Now he’s set to return in the upcoming biopic Jesus Revolution, playing the role of a Vietnam vet recovering from drug addiction.

If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction, call the National Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline on 1800 250 015 for confidential advice or Lifeline on 13 11 14 for substance abuse support.

Weiss was last seen on the big screen in the 2008 film Drillbit Taylor. She is now set to return in the upcoming biopic Jesus Revolution, playing the role of a Vietnam vet recovering from drug addiction (pictured on set)