Shaun Weiss has a lot to smile about these days.
The actor, 42, who rose to fame as lovable goalie Greg Goldberg in the 1992 movie The Mighty Ducks and its two sequels, revealed a sparkling new set of teeth in an Instagram photo. Sporting a white T-shirt and black sunglasses, Weiss’s new stellar smile comes as he continues his recovery from drug addiction, which caused his original teeth to decay.
“I feel like a new person. Thank you Dr. Gabe!!” Weiss captioned his Instagram photo. The shot featured Weiss alongside dentist Dr. Gabe Rosenthal, who replied in the comments, “You look even more handsome in person! So happy for you my brother.”
Weiss resurfaced in January of 2020 after he was arrested for allegedly committing residential burglary while under the influence of a controlled substance. According to police, the Heavyweights actor “forced entry to gain access to the vehicle” by shattering the passenger’s window, and was ordered out of the car and taken into custody. At that point, he “displayed symptoms of being under the influence of methamphetamine,” Yahoo Entertainment previously reported.
Since then, the former child star has made strides toward recovery. Last summer, he graduated from drug court and his burglary case was dismissed. In a photo posted on Facebook by California’s Yuba County, Weiss held up his certificate of completion alongside a judge as they posed in the courtroom.
According to the Facebook post, Weiss “demonstrated perseverance during his recovery complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He had to move treatment and transitional living programs on several occasions. He underwent dental reconstructive surgery, and had a close family member suffer a serious accident during his treatment. Shaun regained employment and has been traveling across the country making guest appearances and signing autographs. He received tremendous support from friends and fans of the character, Goldberg, he played in the 1992 hit The Mighty Ducks.”
Weiss’s 2020 arrest wasn’t his only brush with the law. In 2017, he served 12 days in jail for petty theft, and was arrested again shortly after his release for possession of methamphetamine. He was arrested again in 2018 for public intoxication — and his upsetting mug shot, showing him down and out, shocked fans. Despite a subsequent trip to rehab, he was soon arrested again, this time for shoplifting.
In 2018, Weiss spoke candidly on Facebook about his struggles with addiction, and his attempts to “break free from the self-destructive patterns of behavior and drug abuse that have landed me at rock bottom.”
“I AM going to recover. I’m determined to return to my old self. My mind is set on health and well-being,” he shared.
Weiss reportedly wasn’t invited to join the rest of The Mighty Ducks cast at a reunion last year. However, Emilio Estevez, who played the team’s coach in the iconic family films, told Yahoo Entertainment that he was extremely proud of Weiss’s path to recovery.
“I’m terribly proud of him. As everyone knows, my family is not immune to that sort of scrutiny,” Estevez said, referencing his brother Charlie Sheen‘s struggles with substance use. “I do hold him in high regard and I know getting sober for him is obviously a big deal. The first leg of the journey is now under his belt and in the last photograph I saw, he looks fabulous. I’m encouraged and I’m hopeful.”
