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Buena Vista Pictures/ Everett
Ducks fly together!
It's hard to believe it, but it's been 32 years since Disney's The Mighty Ducks skated into theaters (and hearts), telling the story of a scrappy youth hockey team that beats the odds. The film starred several promising young actors, who've since gone on to big things, led by coach Gordon Bombay, played by Emilio Estevez.
Here, catch up with the cast of The Mighty Ducks, then and now.
Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay
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Emilio Estevez played Gordon Bombay; an attorney–turned– unwilling peewee hockey coach who led his team to victory against all odds. Estevez was a Brat Pack staple and solidified his '80s icon status with classics like The Breakfast Club (1985) and St. Elmo's Fire (1985).
He has racked up a number of off-screen credits since his time coaching the Ducks. He wrote, directed and produced 2006's Bobby and, in 2018, The Public, where he led the star-studded ensemble cast of Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater and Jena Malone. Estevez directed episodes of Cold Case, CSI: NY and Criminal Minds and has worked alongside his younger brother and father, actors Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen.
In 2021, Estevez returned to the Ducks franchise in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers reboot series, but was replaced by Josh Duhamel (playing a new-to-the-franchise character, Coach Cole) after the first season. Estevez told Deadline the reason for his departure was "nothing more than a good old-fashioned contract dispute."
Estevez has two children, Taylor Levi and Paloma Rae, with ex-wife Carey Salley.
Joshua Jackson as Charlie Conway
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After playing the trilogy's Charlie Conway — the heart and soul of the Ducks — Joshua Jackson went on to enjoy a successful TV career, notably playing Pacer Witter on Dawson's Creek, Peter Bishop on Fringe and Cole Lockhart on The Affair. On the big screen, Jackson starred in The Skulls (2000), the supernatural horror flick Shutter (2008) and independent Canadian drama, One Week (2008). In 2020 Jackson was featured in Hulu's miniseries, Little Fires Everywhere alongside Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.
The actor starred in season 1 of the crime-drama anthology series Dr. Death — based on the podcast of the same name — where he played Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a murderous neurosurgeon who mutilated his patients. As of April 2023, Jackson plays Dan Gallagher in Paramount+'s Fatal Attraction, an original series based on the 1987 film.
Jackson married British actress Jodie Turner-Smith in 2019, though they divorced in 2023. The couple welcomed daughter Janie in 2020.
Marguerite Moreau as Connie
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Marguerite Moreau was Connie the "Velvet Hammer" in The Mighty Ducks trilogy before starring as Katie in 2001's cult classic Wet Hot American Summer and its subsequent Netflix prequel and sequel series. Moreau went on to play a paranormal researcher in Queen of The Damned (2002) alongside late singer Aaliyah and, in 2003, played opposite Gene Hackman in the legal thriller Runaway Jury. The actress went on to make appearances in movies like Beverley Hills Chihuahua (2008), Life Happens (2011) and Paddleton (2019).
Moreau has been a familiar face on TV since the early aughts. She played a leading role on the miniseries Firestarter: Rekindled — a sequel to the 1984 film adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter — and regularly appeared as a high school teacher having an affair with a student on ABC's Life As We Know It. Moreau has also had guest parts on shows like Lost, Mad Men, Shameless and Grey's Anatomy. In 2021, she reprised her role as Connie on Disney+'s Ducks reboot, where it was revealed that Connie was now married to former teammate Guy Germaine.
In 2015, Moreau married actor Christopher Redman. The couple welcomed a son, Casper Hayes, in 2021.
Elden Henson as Fulton Reed
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Fulton Reed in the Ducks trilogy and a couple episodes of the Disney+ series. He went on appear in films like She's All That (1999), Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) and Catherine Hardwicke's Lords of Dogtown (2005). Henson was featured in the 2013 Steve Jobs biopic, Jobs, as Andy Hertzfeld, an engineer on Apple's original development team. The actor also played the tongueless Avox cameraman Pollux in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 (2014, 2015).
Henson portrayed Foggy Nelson, lawyer and best friend to Matt Murdock in all three seasons of Netflix's hit Marvel series, Daredevil, and The Defenders. As Foggy, Henson made cameo appearances in the second seasons of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and it was announced that he will reprise the role on Disney+'s Daredevil reboot, Daredevil: Born Again, in 2024.
The former Mighty Ducks Bash Brother is married to actress Kira Sternbach and has a son, Dodger.
Jussie Smollett as Terry Hall
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After getting his start as Terry Hall in The Mighty Ducks, Jussie Smollett starred alongside his five real-life siblings on ABC's short-lived sitcom, On Our Own. He then took a hiatus from acting until 2012 when he returned to the big screen with a lead role in the LGBT dramedy, The Skinny.
In 2014, Smollett joined the cast of Fox's Empire, where he earned rave reviews for his turn as musician Jamal Lyon. After signing a deal with Columbia Records in 2015, he provided co-written songs "I Wanna Love You" and "You're So Beautiful" to the show's season 1 soundtrack. In 2018, he released his debut album, Sum of My Music.
Smollett made headlines in 2019 when he lied to the police about being the victim of a hate crime. The actor claimed he had been physically attacked and called racial and homophobic slurs, but an investigation revealed that he had paid two brothers to fabricate the assault. Smollett underwent trial twice, and in 2022, he was sentenced to 150 days in county jail and two and a half years on probation. His attorneys continue to appeal his sentence and the tens of thousands of dollars in fines owed to the city of Chicago.
Shaun Weiss as Greg Goldberg
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Shaun Weiss played Greg Goldberg, a goalie with a couple of lessons to learn about blocking that pesky puck. Weiss followed his breakout role in The Mighty Ducks films (1992, 1994, 1996) with appearances on TV series like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, Freaks and Geeks and Las Vegas.
While he mostly stuck to the small screen in the years after Coach Bombay tied him to the net, Weiss scored roles in films like Heavyweights (1995), Suits on the Loose (2005) and Drillbit Taylor (2008). In 2023, he returned to acting after a 14-year hiatus playing a Vietnam war veteran in Jesus Revolution, a Christian drama set in the '70s.
The actor has openly struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and became sober in 2020 following a residential burglary arrest. Friend and advocate Drew Gallagher told PEOPLE that Weiss even made a foray into standup comedy during his recovery. He celebrated four years of sobriety in early 2024 with a bevy of '90s stars by his side.
Lane Smith as Coach Jack Reilly
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Lane Smith played Jack Reilly — resident bad guy and the rival Hawks' head coach. He went on to star as newspaper editor Perry White on ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and appeared in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. His final role was in the Robert Redford-directed golf drama, The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000).
After a decades-long career in film and television, Smith died of ALS in June 2005 at age 69.