The real football names in Little Giants include NFL players Bruce Smith and Steve Emtman, who appear as themselves. John Madden also appears, but he was a coach and broadcaster, not a player.
The film’s young football team is played by actors, including Shawna Waldron, Devon Sawa, and Sam Horrigan. Here’s how to tell the real athletes from the cast members playing fictional characters, plus a quick guide to the team and its most recognizable faces.
what football players are in little giants?
Bruce Smith and Steve Emtman are the NFL players who appear as themselves in the 1994 sports comedy Little Giants. John Madden also appears as himself. Madden is closely associated with football, but his roles were as a coach, commentator, and television personality—not as a professional player.
Most of the football action centers on fictional children played by young actors. The movie’s opposing coaches are also fictional: Kevin O’Shea is played by Ed O’Neill, and Danny O’Shea is played by Rick Moranis. That distinction matters because a character can be a football player in the story without being played by a real football pro.
The real football figures who appear in the movie
| Name | What they were known for | How to classify the appearance | Best quick takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Smith | Professional defensive end and Pro Football Hall of Fame member | Appears as himself | The clearest former NFL player among the cameos |
| Steve Emtman | Former professional defensive lineman | Appears as himself | An NFL player featured alongside Smith |
| John Madden | Former NFL head coach and football broadcaster | Appears as himself | A football celebrity, but not a player cameo |
Bruce Smith
Bruce Smith was one of the most prominent defensive players of his era. He played defensive end in the NFL and became known for pressuring opposing quarterbacks. His appearance in Little Giants is a cameo as himself, rather than a performance as one of the fictional youth players.
Smith is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That makes his brief presence an easy detail to miss if you are focused on the child actors, but it is a notable connection between the comedy and professional football.
Steve Emtman
Steve Emtman was a defensive lineman who played professional football after his college career. Like Smith, he appears as himself in the film. He is not one of the O’Shea family members or a fictional coach, and he is not part of the Little Giants’ child roster.
His name may be less familiar to viewers than Smith’s or Madden’s. Still, his appearance is useful to know if you are checking the film’s real football cameos rather than just its best-known cast members.
John Madden
John Madden was a Super Bowl-winning coach and a widely recognized football broadcaster. He appears as himself, bringing his familiar football persona to the movie. He should not be described as a football player in the same sense as Smith or Emtman.
This is a common source of confusion: Madden was a major football figure, but his public identity came from coaching and broadcasting. If a list groups him with the film’s football names, it is more accurate to call him a football personality or coach.
Who plays the Little Giants football team?
The children on the Little Giants are actors playing fictional players. Their characters form Danny O’Shea’s team after Kevin’s select squad leaves many neighborhood kids without a place to play. The team’s appeal comes from its assortment of personalities, not from a roster of professional athletes.
| Actor | Character | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Shawna Waldron | Becky “Icebox” O’Shea | Danny’s daughter, a strong and determined football player |
| Devon Sawa | Junior Floyd | A talented young player and a central part of the team’s story |
| Sam Horrigan | Spike Hammersmith | A tough, intimidating kid on the rival side |
| Todd Bosley | Jake Berman | One of the kids who joins Danny’s team |
| Marcus Toji | One of the young players on Danny’s team | A member of the ensemble roster |
| Joey Simmrin | Nubie | A young player on the Little Giants |
The film uses its youth ensemble to build both the football plot and the comedy. Some players have a clear specialty or an instantly recognizable look, while others help make the team feel like a group of neighborhood kids. The performers are actors, not NFL players appearing under their own names.
Becky “Icebox” O’Shea
Shawna Waldron plays Becky, nicknamed Icebox. She is Kevin’s niece and Danny’s daughter, and she wants the chance to play football rather than be pushed toward activities chosen for her. Her athletic skill is central to the film’s conflict and its message about who gets to take part in a team sport.
Becky is a fictional character, not a real football player. Waldron’s performance is often the first one people recall when discussing the team because Becky’s position in the story challenges Kevin’s assumptions about football and girls.
Junior Floyd
Devon Sawa plays Junior Floyd, a gifted young player whose connection to Kevin’s side makes him important to the rivalry. Junior is not a real athlete appearing as himself. He is a character in the story, played by an actor who was a child performer at the time.
His role adds a personal dimension to the competition between the two teams. The story is not only about winning a game; it is also about family ties, loyalty, and the pressure young players can feel when adults set expectations for them.
Spike Hammersmith
Sam Horrigan plays Spike Hammersmith, a tough kid associated with Kevin’s team. The character’s size and aggressive attitude help make the rival side seem formidable to the younger players. Horrigan is an actor, not an NFL player.
Because the name sounds like it could belong to a pro athlete, it can be mistaken for a real football name. In this movie, Spike is a fictional child character. Bruce Smith, by contrast, is a real professional player who appears as himself.
The adult actors playing football coaches
The two central coaches are played by actors with different connections to football. Rick Moranis plays Danny O’Shea, the underdog coach who assembles the Little Giants. Ed O’Neill plays Kevin O’Shea, Danny’s successful older brother and the coach of the more polished team.
Rick Moranis as Danny O’Shea
Danny begins as a local parent rather than an experienced football coach. When the neighborhood kids need a team, he takes responsibility for organizing them. His coaching style grows through the story, as he learns to see what each child can contribute instead of judging the group by its lack of size or polish.
Moranis is not a professional football player. He is an actor known for comedy, and the character’s awkwardness is part of the contrast between Danny and Kevin. The movie’s football premise should not be confused with Moranis having played an NFL coach or athlete in real life.
Ed O’Neill as Kevin O’Shea
Kevin is a former professional football star in the film’s story. Ed O’Neill plays him as a confident coach who favors strong, skilled players and expects his team to win. The character’s professional past is fictional, even though O’Neill had a real connection to the sport before becoming a full-time actor.
O’Neill played college football at Ohio University and later had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That background can make his performance feel convincing, but it does not make him a professional NFL player. His football experience was real; Kevin’s career as a professional player is part of the film’s fiction.
Why viewers mix up the athletes and the cast
Little Giants combines real football figures, actors playing coaches, and young performers playing players. The movie also gives some fictional characters sports-ready names and athletic personalities. A quick cast list can blur those categories unless it labels each appearance clearly.
Use this simple distinction:
- Real NFL players: Bruce Smith and Steve Emtman appear as themselves.
- Football coach and broadcaster: John Madden appears as himself, but was not a player cameo.
- Actors playing fictional football characters: Shawna Waldron, Devon Sawa, Sam Horrigan, and the rest of the youth cast.
- Actors with a real football background: Ed O’Neill played college football and had a professional tryout, but he portrays a fictional former pro.
This distinction answers two different questions people often mean by “football players in the movie.” If you mean actual professional players, Smith and Emtman are the names to note. If you mean the characters who play football on screen, the answer is the cast of the Little Giants and their rivals.
What the football story is about
The story follows brothers Danny and Kevin O’Shea, whose rivalry becomes a youth football competition. Kevin has the established team and the reputation of a former star. Danny forms a separate team from kids who were overlooked, then prepares them to face Kevin’s players.
That setup gives the film two kinds of conflict. There is the practical challenge of learning plays and working together, and there is the family conflict between brothers who have measured themselves against each other for years. The football game gives those tensions a clear place to play out.
The Little Giants are not presented as a team of polished prospects. They are an unusual group with different strengths, weaknesses, and reasons for joining. Danny’s task is to help them cooperate, rather than expecting every child to fit a single ideal of what a football player should look like.
Becky’s role makes that theme especially clear. She has the skill and interest to play, but Kevin’s views about girls in football stand in her way. Her effort to be recognized as a teammate connects the sports plot to the film’s broader point about fairness and belonging.
How to identify the cameos when watching
Look for the credited real football figures rather than trying to identify every adult in a sideline shot. Smith and Emtman are listed among the football figures appearing as themselves, while Madden is recognizable as the coach and broadcaster playing himself. The child players, by contrast, have character names and story roles.
- Check whether the person is credited as themselves. A self-appearance usually signals a real sports or media figure rather than a fictional character.
- Separate the character from the actor. Kevin may have a professional playing history in the plot, but Ed O’Neill is playing a scripted role.
- Do not treat athletic appearance as proof of an NFL career. A young actor can convincingly play a football player without being a professional athlete.
- Use the film’s context. The Little Giants and their opponents are fictional youth teams; the story is not a documentary about a real league roster.
A useful viewing tip is to note the person’s name and role separately. For example, “Ed O’Neill as Kevin O’Shea” identifies an actor and a character, while “Bruce Smith as himself” identifies a real player making an appearance. Keeping those labels distinct prevents the most common cast-list mix-up.
Common questions about the football cast
Was Bruce Smith in Little Giants?
Yes. Bruce Smith appears as himself. He was a professional defensive end and is the best-known former NFL player associated with the film’s cameos.
Was John Madden a player in the movie?
John Madden appears as himself, but he was a coach and broadcaster, not a player cameo. Calling him a football figure is accurate; calling him one of the movie’s NFL players is not.
Is Ed O’Neill a real football player?
O’Neill played college football and had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He did not become an NFL player, and his character Kevin’s professional playing career is fictional.
Are the kids on the Little Giants real football players?
No. The youth roster is made up of fictional characters portrayed by actors. The performers may play football convincingly on screen, but the characters are not real NFL players.
Who plays the girl on the team?
Shawna Waldron plays Becky “Icebox” O’Shea, Danny’s daughter. Becky is a fictional player and one of the main characters in the film.
Who plays Spike?
Sam Horrigan plays Spike Hammersmith, the tough young player associated with Kevin’s side. Spike is a fictional character, not the name of a real football player in the movie.
What the cast list does—and does not—tell you
A cast list is helpful, but it may not explain whether someone plays a fictional role or appears as themselves. That distinction matters in a movie built around a sport, since the cast includes real football names alongside actors portraying coaches and players.
It also helps to separate an actor’s personal background from a character’s story. O’Neill had a genuine college football background, but the film does not turn Kevin into a factual account of O’Neill’s own career. Similarly, the young actors’ football scenes do not make their characters real roster members.
The clearest way to describe the film is that it has real football cameos from Bruce Smith and Steve Emtman, a self-appearance by coach and broadcaster John Madden, and an acted story about two fictional youth teams. That wording is both concise and accurate.
The real NFL players in Little Giants are Bruce Smith and Steve Emtman, and John Madden appears as a football coach and broadcaster. The children and coaches at the center of the story are fictional characters played by actors.
For a quick cast check, keep the person and the role separate: Bruce Smith appears as himself, while Ed O’Neill plays the fictional Kevin O’Shea. That distinction gives you the clearest answer to what football players are in little giants.