Ilan Mitchell-Smith is a former Hollywood actor best known for playing Wyatt Donnelly in “Weird Science,” who is now a Medieval Literature professor at California State University, Long Beach.

Ilan Mitchell-Smith Age & Early Life

Ilan M. Mitchell-Smith was born on June 29, 1969, in Amherst, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA, and is of American nationality. He was born under the sign of Cancer. He is of Jewish and Russian ancestry. Ilan is the son of psychotherapist Clary Mitchell-Smith and Lawrence “Larry” Smith, an art history instructor at a community college in Massachusetts. His parents divorced in 1970, sharing custody of Ilan and his older sister Natania, who is now an artist and potter in England and the Head of Visual and Performing Arts Department at The Williston, Northampton School.

Later, their mother traveled to Hawaii to marry for the second time. Ilan has always had a strong desire to perform. He enjoyed the ballet and even attended the School of American Ballet, which was based at the New York City Ballet company at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where he won a dance scholarship.

Education Details

After graduating from Amherst Regional High School with a high school equivalency degree at the age of 17, Ilan focused on his acting career for a decade before returning to school at Santa Monica College in California. His academic credentials were later supplemented with an AB in medieval studies from the University of California, Davis, and an MA from Fordham University in New York. In 2005, he received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

Professional Career Of Ilan Mitchell-Smith

At the age of 11, Ilan was noticed by a casting director while performing in one of his ballet shows. He was invited to join the cast of the drama “Daniel” (1983), where he played the younger version of the title character. The same year, he played Milo Crimpley in Joan Micklin Silver’s TV movie “How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days.” In 1984, he starred alongside Eric Stoltz and Chris Penn in the comedy “The Wild Life.”He also appeared as Anthony Ganucci in the episode “The Confirmation Day” of the popular TV series “The Equalizer, In 1985”

In 1985, Ilan also landed his most recognizable role; at the age of 15, he passed the audition for the role of Wyatt Donnelly, joining the cast of “Weird Science,” a science fiction film for teenagers. He was admired by the film’s star, Kelly LeBrock, who warmly kissed him at one of the parties they attended together. He shared the screen with Robert Downey Jr., Bill Paxton, and Anthony Michael Hall. Ilan was said to be very nice on set; Judie Aronson, who played Ilan’s on-screen girlfriend, shared her memories: ‘Though he shared the screen with future stars…> he still stood out.’ The other boys on set were all extremely wild, carefree, and crazy.

‘Ilan was very well-bred and well-mannered,’ she said in an interview with People in 2000. “Weird Science” was such a success that the producers later created a TV series based on the plot of the film with the same name, starring John Mallory Asher as Gary Wallace and Michael Manasseri as Wyatt Donnelly. Vanessa Angel landed the role of Lisa, the “perfect girlfriend.”

Ilan Mitchell-Smith’s Relationship

Ilan met his future wife, Susannah Demaree, at Santa Monica Junior College in 1992, where she was also a student. Susannah had no idea about Ilan’s previous acting career and couldn’t place a teenage actor in her new boyfriend. She only found out about his previous career when they were discussing their favorite movies: Susannah mentioned that her favorite film was “The Chocolate War,” in which Ilan starred. He couldn’t stop laughing because Susannah didn’t recognize him, so he finally explained why he was laughing so hard to her.

Ilan and Susannah married in 1995 after dating for a few years. In 1998, she gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Eloise. In the year 2000, the couple welcomed their second child, a son named Asher. After graduating from Ernest S. McBride High School in 2018, Asher is now pursuing a BA in Film and Electronic Arts at California State University, Long Beach. Asher describes himself as a budding screenwriter.

Susannah worked as a special education assistant instructor before leaving to care for their children. Her current job title is unknown.

Hobbies and Facts

Ilan enjoys playing board games. He’s written numerous articles about Dungeons and Dragons and has also worked as a freelance writer for Talk Wargaming, Forces of Geek (where he has a column called “Playing the Nerd”), and a variety of other online gaming publications.

Ilan occasionally volunteers as a technical writer and editor for some small “indie” game studios developing tabletop games; he also helps to organize annual tabletop gaming conventions in Southern California. Ilan is a strong supporter of the “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations and protests.

Mitchell dislikes being recognized by his students, so when they tell him he looks like the main character from “Weird Science,” he responds, “Yeah, everybody tells me that.”

Ilan Mitchell-Smith Height & Weight

Ilan has dark brown hair that is cut short and blue eyes. He stands 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall and weighs approximately 167lbs (76kgs). He likes to wear comfortable hoodies with game-related prints, Bermuda shorts, and other casual outfits when he is not at work.

Ilan Mitchell-Smith Net Worth 2023

It is known that Ilan received $150,000 for his role in the 1985 film “Weird Science.” Ilan’s net worth is estimated to be more than $300,000 as of 2022

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