Alexander Gould, who played youngest son Shane Botwin on &34;Weeds,&34; said that the cast and crew shielded him from certain things. How Weeds child star was sheltered from show's 'very intense content' Alexander Gould, who played youngest son Shane Botwin on &34;Weeds,&34; said that the cast and crew shielded him from certain things. By Daysia Tolentino :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/DaysiaTolentinoauthorphotob1c9bf2343cf4cf7b77759eeb9f69e8d.jpg) Daysia Tolentino Daysia Tolentino is a writer at . She has written for since 2025. Her work has appeared in NBC News, Vulture, GQ, and InStyle.

Alexander Gould, who played youngest son Shane Botwin on "Weeds," said that the cast and crew shielded him from certain things.

How Weeds child star was sheltered from show's 'very intense content'

Alexander Gould, who played youngest son Shane Botwin on "Weeds," said that the cast and crew shielded him from certain things.

By Daysia Tolentino

Daysia Tolentino

Daysia Tolentino is a writer at *. *She has written for * *since 2025. Her work has appeared in NBC News, Vulture, GQ, and InStyle.

EW's editorial guidelines

January 22, 2026 7:00 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Mary-Louise Parker and Alexander Gould on 'Weeds'. Credit:

Despite the mature topics on *Weeds*, former child actor Alexander Gould said he was well-protected while working on the show.

At just 10, Gould played Shane Botwin, the youngest son of marijuana-dealing suburban mother Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker). Growing up on a show centered on the illicit drug trade, he was often exposed to some pretty adult topics. The young star recently shared how the *Weeds* cast and crew protected him and created a safe working environment.

"I was honestly sheltered on *Weeds* from a lot of the very intense content," Gould told *PEOPLE* in an interview. "So I didn't always know that that was happening around me. I was very much given my lines and given some context, and sometimes not a lot of context, to what was happening and just told that."

Alexander Gould on 'Weeds'.

He spent his entire adolescence on the show, wrapping when he was 18. Gould called his experience on *Weeds* "formative." He added that he was fortunate to learn from "really impressive actors" like Parker, Richard Dreyfuss, Albert Brooks, and more during this time.

"Those people, for the time I was on set, became a close circle and loved working with everyone," Gould said.

'Weeds' turns 20! Looking back at the 22 best guest stars who lit up the series

Justin Kirk is skeptical about a potential 'Weeds' revival

Before being cast on *Weeds, *which he noted "broke a lot of boundaries," Gould voiced the titular character in the Pixar film *Finding Nemo. ***

"I always joke about that, because it's funny," Gould said*.* "I went from being the most family-friendly movie of all time, probably, to the least family-friendly show, at least at that time."

Mary-Louise Parker on 'Weeds'.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

After taking a break from acting after the show ended, Gould is jumping back into the industry and auditioning for new roles. He also expressed interest in starting a podcast to speak with other child actors about their experiences in Hollywood.

"I know child acting has become more of a topic, but I think there's a lot of conversations to be had there and it would really be awesome to be able to facilitate those," he said.**

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Comedy"

Read More

---

Source: Comedy

Published: January 23, 2026 at 06:57AM on Source: RED MAG

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle