Overboard 1987

 

On the set of "Overboard" in 1987, producers made a calculated choice that ended up creating some of the film’s most charming moments. The four boys who played Dean Proffitt’s rambunctious sons were intentionally kept away from Goldie Hawn before filming key scenes. The idea was to preserve the awkwardness and raw connection between the characters and Joanna Stayton as she entered their world. That distance, surprisingly, turned into a brilliant stroke of authenticity, especially with how the young actors responded emotionally to Hawn once the cameras rolled.

Jared Rushton, who played Charlie, was only twelve years old during filming, and he later said in a 1992 interview with "Movieline," “We weren’t acting. She was so warm off-camera that we naturally adored her.” Director Garry Marshall had instructed the crew to keep initial interactions between Hawn and the kids unscripted for several early takes. In one scene where Joanna awkwardly serves the boys lunch, their expressions of confusion, annoyance, and curiosity weren’t coached. The boys had never sat with her in costume before that moment, so their responses carried real curiosity and hesitance, something that aligned perfectly with the storyline.

Goldie Hawn, a veteran of both comedy and drama, treated the kids with sincere attention off-camera. On breaks between shots, she shared snacks, played games, and listened to their stories, building a level of comfort that made its way on screen. Jeffery Wiseman, who played Travis, remembered a moment when Hawn made shadow puppets with him under a lighting rig during a rain delay. “She didn’t try to act like a grown-up who was trying to bond,” he said during a later reunion conversation with "Entertainment Tonight." “She was just there, present. You felt safe around her.”

Director Garry Marshall often encouraged improvisation on set, and the boys’ chemistry with Hawn benefited from that flexibility. When Billy, played by Michael Patrick Carter, blurts out an unexpected line about spaghetti being “mystery worms,” the laughter seen on Hawn’s face wasn’t rehearsed. It came from a real reaction to Carter’s unexpected comment, which had never appeared in the script. Marshall kept it in the final cut for that very reason.

During filming, Hawn also made an effort to learn about each boy’s family and background. Jared Rushton recalled how she remembered his mother’s name and asked about his sister’s school play. “That meant a lot to me, more than I even realized at the time,” he said. It gave him a sense of being respected, not just managed like a child actor. For the boys, Hawn wasn’t a distant star, but someone they connected with easily.

Thomas Wilson Brown, who played Greg, revealed in a podcast interview years later that the first time he hugged Goldie Hawn wasn’t during a scripted moment, but during a break between scenes when she crouched down to tie his untied shoelace. “I looked at her, and for some reason, I just gave her a hug. No one said cut, no one said action. It was just real.”

Garry Marshall later said in an interview with "Variety" that Goldie Hawn’s ability to be emotionally available without pushing herself into the kids’ space helped create an environment where the boys felt empowered. “She knew how to step back and let them be kids, but also how to be there when they needed a soft landing,” he said.

What unfolded on screen in "Overboard" wasn’t built solely by script or direction, but by real emotional connections behind the scenes. Goldie Hawn’s warmth and natural instinct to nurture helped pull honest, textured performances from children who had never worked with her before, and that authenticity became one of the film’s most memorable elements.

In the quiet corners between takes, in laughter over lunch, and in moments unscripted and unrehearsed, the kids didn’t perform with Goldie Hawn. They trusted her.