Former child star Shaun Weiss has spoken out about how Hollywood fails young performers following the death of actress Hayden Panettiere at age 36.
Weiss, 47, enjoyed fame as a young actor, at one point earning $60,000 a week, before abusing drugs in his mid-30s and becoming homeless. The former actor, who starred in all three Mighty Ducks movies, rebuilt his life and celebrated six years of sobriety in January.
Panettiere also struggled with opioid and alcohol addiction throughout her life before dying on Sunday after a suspected overdose, just days before her 37th birthday. In her memoir, she alleged a staff member gave her a "happy pill" to liven her up for interviews when she was 16.
In an interview with The Daily Mail, Weiss reflected on his youth in the public eye and warned that Hollywood cannot be relied upon to protect child performers. He explained that a family dynamic becomes warped when a child becomes the primary earner, causing parents to lose authority.
"You can't really count on Hollywood to police young people," Weiss said. "It's the parents, really. And what happens, and I know this happened in my situation, the parenting dynamic gets incredibly messed up when the kid is the breadwinner, because you know, like in my own situation, my parents really lost authority with me when I started paying for things."
He added that parents should prioritize balance over commercial success: "I honestly think it's the parent's job to raise a kid in a way in which they're healthy and balanced, and maybe installing your child into show business isn't the number one way to do that."
Underage Drinking on Television Sets
Weiss recalled that adults on television sets failed to intervene despite knowing he was consuming alcohol while under the legal drinking age.
"When I was younger and when I was on sets and adults... I wouldn't say people were offering me things, but they knew I was doing things and everyone just sort of looked away," Weiss said. He recalled working as a series regular on the sitcom Mr. Rhodes at age 16, where he played a comedic character expanded by writers.
"Like I was a funny character that they kept building out so I knew they liked me, but I was drinking alcohol and I knew the producers and the writers knew that I was, you know, drinking before shows," Weiss said. He noted that an intervention by an adult at the time would have made a difference in his life.
Although not every young actor experiences the same difficulties, Weiss advised parents of aspiring child performers to proceed with caution. He suggested enrolling children in stage plays or acting classes to learn the craft rather than pursuing paid professional work before adulthood.
"I would say learning a craft as young as possible is always the best idea. So there's plenty of ways to get your kid involved in acting. There's stage plays. There's acting class. There's all kinds of things," Weiss said. "But you know, trying to get them paid professionally for it before they're 18, it always reeks of something... are the parents hoping that the kids will pay the bills?"
Weiss questioned what prompts parents to enter their children into the entertainment industry: "What is the deficiency that's making a parent put their kid into a business, especially one like Hollywood, where it's known for people getting taken advantaged of and people getting abused and chewed up and spit out." He recommended providing children with tools and exposure to develop as artists instead.
Tribute to Hayden Panettiere
Speaking about Panettiere, Weiss recalled watching her star on her hit NBC television series Heroes, where she gained widespread fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet.
"I remember... how hot she was in Hollywood. She was definitely the hot girl, and I remember seeing her for the first time and getting it and being like, "Wow, she's so talented, she's so pretty,"" Weiss said. "What a tragedy. And I I feel so bad for her parents."
Panettiere had been frank during her life about the troubling situations she encountered growing up in the public eye, including her battle with substance abuse prior to her death on Sunday.
Depression, Tragedy and Addiction
Weiss clarified that his drug addiction to methamphetamine and heroin did not originate directly from Hollywood culture. When he arrived in Los Angeles in 1996, he said the industry was experiencing a health revival.
"People tend to associate my drug addiction and my struggles with drugs with Hollywood, and that really wasn't the case. When I got to LA in 1996, Hollywood was going through a health revival. People were drinking water, and I just wanted to do cocaine!" Weiss told The Daily Mail.
He said he fell into depression after the glamour and glitz of Hollywood faded. In his mid-30s, a convergence of three tragic personal events occurred within a 90-day period.
"So the timing was off a little bit, but basically, you know, that was when the glamor and the glory and glitz of Hollywood wasn't there anymore that I fell into a depression, and then when I got into, you know, it was a slow burn, but when I got into my mid-30s, I had a convergence of three events happen within a 90 day period," Weiss said.
First, his father died after Weiss served as his caretaker and nurse for a decade. Second, his fiancee broke up with him after he discovered she was seeing other people. Third, his apartment lease expired, and he lacked several thousand dollars for first and last month's rent in Los Angeles.
"My father died. I was his caretaker and his nurse for the last decade of his life and he was my best friend," Weiss explained. "And my fiance broke up with me and I found out like she was seeing other people, and then my apartment lease ran out. At that point, I just didn't have several thousands of dollars to... put down a first and last to get a new apartment in L.A."
After an argument with a friend while sleeping on a couch, Weiss left the apartment at midnight. He walked into an adjacent park occupied by gang members who repeatedly offered him drugs. After refusing ten times, he finally succumbed.
"I was staying with a friend on his couch, and we got into an argument. And I left his place at I guess midnight, and there was a park right next door to his apartment complex where some gang members were occupying the place, and they were approaching me, asking me if I wanted drugs, and I said no the first 10 times. Finally, I succumbed," Weiss said.
Recovery and Current Life
Weiss experienced multiple brushes with law enforcement, including a 2020 arrest in Yuba County, California, for burglary and methamphetamine use, after which a court ordered him into rehabilitation.
Today, Weiss performs stand-up comedy, describing the experience as therapeutic. He also sells autographed items on his website to benefit child actors attempting to stay off drugs.
Celebrating six years of sobriety earlier this year, Weiss posted a message of gratitude on Instagram acknowledging his support network and the Isha Foundation.
"I'm stuck on gratitude!" Weiss wrote. "Your love & support has been so crucial @isha.foundation was the game changer. THANK YOU for having my back. DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!"
