Ilan Mitchell-Smith

Ilan Mitchell-Smith (born June 29, 1969) is an American academic and former actor, best known as a co-star of the film Weird Science (1985) and Andy McCalister in Superboy. Acting career Mitchell-Smith's very first passion was ballet. He studied as a child and even won a scholarship to dance with the School of American Ballet. While there on his scholarship, he was discovered by a casting director and his film career began in 1982 at age 12 when he played a younger version of the title character in Sidney Lumet's Daniel. After a starring role in the 1984 film The Wild Life, he was cast as Wyatt Donnelly in the 1985 teen film Weird Science by writer/director John Hughes. The film focuses on two nerdy teenage boys who create a woman of their own (played by Kelly LeBrock), as they are unable to find girlfriends. Mitchell-Smith starred in several other films and TV series, most notably The Chocolate War and Superboy; none of these brought him the same degree of recognition. He decided to leave acting entirely in 1991, his final role being a guest appearance on Silk Stalkings. Recently, Mitchell-Smith has performed select voiceover work (recording for two episodes—"Moon Warriors" and "Heads Will Roll"—of Fox's Axe Cop). In 2017, Mitchell-Smith guest-starred in the fifth-season premiere of The Goldbergs, playing science teacher Mr. Connelly. The episode, entitled "Weird Science", was based on his film Weird Science, with series character Barry Goldberg believing he can make a girlfriend in the same manner as the movie.