Joshua Jackson Still Cringes at ‘D2: The Mighty Ducks’ Line, Mocks Charlie’s Ducks Obsession (Exclusive)

Thankfully for fans of The Mighty Ducks franchise, Joshua Jackson embraces the film series he starred in as a child actor. Still, there is one moment from D2: The Mighty Ducks that still makes him cringe decades later.

During an exclusive Men's Journal interview, Jackson laughed about the line that has haunted him for years. He also poked fun at his character, Charlie Conway's obsession with keeping the team name, The Mighty Ducks.

Joshua Jackson Admits One ‘D2: The Mighty Ducks’ Line Still Makes Him Cringe

Men’s Journal: As somebody who grew up in the ‘90s and grew up watching you, I have to ask you about The Mighty Ducks. What are the chances of you starring in some kind of sequel in the Gordon Bombay style character?

Joshua Jackson: Well, I would say I have no idea cause that's above my pay grade. So they made the new TV show a couple of years ago. Honestly, the biggest barrier to entry is that Disney doesn't really make kids' movies like that anymore. So they usually make that as a TV show. So, yeah, I don't really get to make to make those choices.

Men’s Journal: No, of course not. We've seen examples of actors who have campaigned for series returns. For example, the cast of Community spoke about that for years, and now there is going to be a movie. So...

Joshua Jackson: I think I have probably a better chance of ending up on Heated Rivalry than I do of starring in a new The Mighty Ducks movie. But we'll see. Who knows?

Men’s Journal: As somebody who has watched The Mighty Ducks movies several times, I have to ask you, when you were reading those scripts, did it ever drive you nuts that your character was so wedded to the idea of everything having to be called the Ducks? When he was part of Team USA, he was like, “That’s nice Coach, but we’re Ducks… Can’t we be USA Ducks or at least keep our colors?” While watching your character say that, I was like, “Come on! Of course not.”

Joshua Jackson: Probably the worst line reading that I've given in my entire career is in the second The Mighty Ducks movie when we're having that scene where we're talking about, "Now we're Team USA and what it means to play for Team USA.” And it's just one word. It's the word “Pride.” And the way that I say that has made me cringe for, how old am I now? 47, 30, what is it? 32 years, 35 years.

So, it didn't bother me when I was reading the scripts. I think I was too young to understand what branding was. So, I didn't get what was going on around me and I was just happy to be there. I have a couple of cringey line deliveries in those movies that stick with me. Those are the things that bother me.

Men’s Journal: For me, I don’t have any complaints with your performance. I love those movies. That moment where Charlie is like, “But we're the Ducks and it's Team USA.” When I watch that, I’m always like, “What is happening right now?”

Joshua Jackson: (Laughs)  Yeah. You're on essentially what amounts to the Olympic team, and you're complaining about which jersey you're wearing. “What's happening?” Charlie, he wasn't down for change.

Men’s Journal: He definitely was not. Thank you so much for talking to me today. It was a real pleasure to get to talk to you and to complain about The Mighty Ducks lines from decades ago.

Joshua Jackson: (Laughs) Thank you.