He was always grateful to Robin Williams: Whatever Happened to Bradley Pearce, the Boy from Jumanji?

After seeing Jumanji in 1995, many of us were afraid of losing at board games, for fear of being drawn into the heart of a life-sized – and deadly – game. The film, directed by the late Robin Williams, also featured Bonnie Hunt and two young actors: a certain Kirsten Dunst, whose film career is well known, and Bradley Pearce, now 41, who, unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of on our site. screens since then.

Born in 1982 in Arizona, Bradley Michael Pierce Began his acting career at the age of 6 doing commercials before landing a small role in the TV movie Too Young to Die? (1990) with Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis.

But the youngster also quickly discovered his talent as a voice actor, lending his voice to the character of Chip, the little mug in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. He will also voice the character of Flounder in the series The Little Mermaid, or Tails in the animated series The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog – and many others.

Robin Williams, The Guardian

After a brief appearance in series such as Roseanne or Lois et Clark, Bradley Pierce He got the role we will all remember for: playing Peter Shepherd at the age of 13 JumanjiJoe Johnston’s legendary family film, in which the board game can take you to its heart, that is, the hellish jungle, where (deadly) dangers lurk everywhere.

him and Kirsten Dunst That’s why the heroes of the movie were there Robin Williams according to which Bradley PierceIntervened on their behalf when production wanted them to work overtime.

Speaking to CBCListen in 2020, Bradley Pierce He recalled the scene in which the game unleashes a monsoon on the world of Jumanji. At the time, the young lad had particular problems with water seeping into his prosthetic make-up – in fact, acting in the film turns his character into a monkey.

“I could not breathe through my nosehe said, adding that the shooting of this scene, which lasted eight days,It was really tiring for everyone“And left and Kirsten Dunst“tired“.

Despite this, she claims that the producers tried to force them to work overtime, which is not legally allowed for children.

“Children can only stay on set for certain hours. The producers contacted our parents and asked, “Can we do some overtime to make this happen?” This is not uncommon in the industry as it literally saves $100,000 and puts in an extra half hour rather than a full day.“

That’s when Robin Williams intervened after “to hear about these conversations“and”He took the director and producers aside“If we tell them that this will not happen.

“He said, “No, we’re not expanding. I’ll let you all go now and we’ll be back next week. Despite all the money it would have cost, no one would have protested the way he did. In addition to being warm, generous and kind, he was very protective.“

It reminds us why we still love so much Robin Williams.

Shy career and training

Although the film was an overwhelming success, it was not the springboard for the young actor as it was Kirsten Dunst. The young man continued to be smart in films such as Small World of Borrowers (1997) with John Goodman, Jim Broadbent and Mark Williams, or My Dream Girl (2000) with Freddie Prinze Jr., Julia Stiles and Selma Blair.

On the television side, he makes episodic appearances in series such as Star Trek: Voyager or Profiler. In 2019, he will be part of the additional voice team for the Pokemon Detective Pikachu movie starring Ryan Reynolds and Justice Smith.

despite Bradley Pierce Never one to give up on acting, he decided to try his hand at producing his own projects in 2016, creating the production company ZFO Entertainment with actor Joey Zimmerman (Earth 2). The company released Deacon in 2018, this is the last film with his participation till date.

in parallel, Bradley Pierce Also co-founded Pierce & Luna with fellow actress Bella Luna, a company that provides bespoke cocktail services for elite Hollywood parties and film festivals.

To see the actor in his iconic role again, head over to Netflix, where Jumanji (1995) is streaming.