Jumanjiis one of the greatest films of the 1990s.
The film also starred a young Kirsten Dunst, with Bradley Pierce playing her little brother.
Rounding out the main cast was actress Bonnie Hunt.
Far from being a little boy, Pierce is all grown up with kids of his own.
Here’s what he’s been up to since hisJumanjidays.
Bradley Pierce still looks back on his time on the set ofJumanjifondly.
Filming lasted almost six months which is a long time, especially when you’re a kid.
Pierce was only 12 years old when he was cast in the now-classic film.
He knew even then that the movie was going to go down in history as one of the greats.
These days, Pierce remembers filmingJumanjias one of the highlights of his career.
“Jumanjiwas amazing,” he toldCherryLosAngeles.
“It was one of my most memorable experiences of my life.
Robin Williams was great.
The entire crew was amazing.
Joe Johnston, our director, one of the most talented people I’ve worked with.
Lot of fun.”
“The monkey make up was originally going to be 40 days approximately,” he toldi.
The process wasn’t just long, but it was uncomfortable as well.
Fortunately, Pierce had the support of the cast and crew, who helped him through the grueling process.
“They set up a TV that I could watch in the mirror,” he said.
Like Pierce, the late Williams knew what it was like to have to endure hours of makeup utility.
The Hollywood legend kept the young Pierce company as he was having his monkey makeup put on.
“He had gone through all of the various stages of prosthetic make up forMrs.
Pierce added, “He was one of the most generous people I’ve ever met.
Not necessarily with money or things, but with his time, his energy, his wisdom.
He was willing to mentor myself and Kirsten.”
He also said finding your own individuality and value was important.”
Robin Williams defended Bradley Pierce on the set of Jumanji
FilmingJumanjiwas a grueling process for Bradley Pierce.
Robin Williams, however, put his foot down.
Williams speaking up for the kids on set worked, and they were sent home.
As Pierce put it, “Nobody else could have stood up the way he did.”
A couple years after appearing inJumanji, he starred in another book-to-film adaptation,The Borrowers.
The Borrowerswas a turning point in Pierce’s career.
Pierce relocated to London for several months to filmThe Borrowersand has fond memories of his time on set.
He also found mentors in actors Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams.
Fortunately, the break didn’t last too long.
“When I was 19 I decided I really wanted to get back into it,” he said.
“Stepping away was good for me, but I wanted back in.”
Getting back into the swing of things wasn’t as easy as Pierce had hoped it would be.
No longer a beloved child star, casting directors weren’t too keen on giving the 19-year-old major roles.
The advice Pierce received from Robin Williams became more important than ever during this difficult time.
While Pierce said that growing up as a well-known star was “awesome,” it wasn’t perfect.
“And also, especially Hollywood, a lot of people are trying to be actors.
So there’s that influence there, which is kind of a problem sometimes.”
Pierce has voiceda lot of charactersthroughout his career, starting withTimeless Tales From Hallmarkin 1990.
He also played Tails in theSonic the Hedgehogcartoon!
His biggest voice acting role, though, remainsBeauty and The Beast.
At first, Pierce was only supposed to have one line: “Mamma!
There’s a girl in the castle.”
He’ll definitely be missed."
“I’ve been secretly fighting it for a long time.
And so I did.”
“A sequel, I would have loved that,” he toldTMZ.
“I could totally get behind a sequel.
Kirsten Dunst and I find the game now, as adults, right?
We’ve got our own family, play the game.
Could have been awesome.”
“I think they were trying to keep it very isolated,” he toldTooFab.
“No one ever reached out to me for any kind of cameo or appearance work.
There’s definitely ways they could have made it work.
Again, in the bazaar scene, you fill it with avatars.
“It had some really wonderful moments and comedy and action that really worked.
I enjoyed the performances and it was overall a really fun experience.”
We can hardly blame him becauseJumanjiis, after all, a classic.
“I think it’s missing a little bit of that morality story that the original had.
But it was a fun, family adventure movie.”
As soon as he heard about the live action remake, he recognized its potential.
He thought the vocals “fell a little bit flat” but enjoyed the rest of the film.
Jumanji got one of his kids interested in acting
The power ofJumanjiis strong.
“Both of my older kids have seen the originalJumanji,” Pierce toldTooFab.
They both enjoyed it…
I don’t know if they necessarily grasped the messages of it, but that’s ok.
It was actually watching his dad inJumanjithat inspired Pierce’s older son to enter show business himself.
The couple had been together for a decade and have three children together.
“We were going through some rough times the last couple of years,” he toldThe Paparazzi Gamer.
So, we gave each other a little bit of space.
That space turned into a little bit more space.”
“I’m not gonna completely write it out but it would definitely take … something amazing.”
His talents go far beyond acting, and the star has a variety of interests and skills.
Together, the two actors co-founded and runa website called Pierce & Luna.
The couple also creates their own cocktails andoffers bartending servicesfor parties and festivals.
Pierce has also been showing off his formidable creative skills by creating his own content.
“That’s the normalization of rape culture.
And that’s a bigger issue than two guys having a conversation in a locker room.”
Pierce went on to emphasize the importance of consent and respect for women.
“Not only is ‘no means no,’ but anything other than ‘yes,’ also means no.
You need an explicit ‘yes’ for these things.
Donald Trump’s conversation is horrible.
It casts a bad light on men in general,” he said.
After all, the game isterrifyingand comes with a pretty real risk of death.
People can disappear into the game fordecades.
Herds of wild animals can tear apart your house.
Players even launch the risk of being turnedintowild animals.
Bradley Pierce, however, thinks that finding aJumanjigame would make for a pretty great adventure.
“It all goes back to normal.
Knowing that now, hell yeah I’d roll the dice.”
