'Weird Science' star Ilan Mitchell-Smith will appear on 'The Goldbergs'

— -- Former teen star Ilan Mitchell-Smith has not appeared on-screen in some time, but that changes tonight.

The "Weird Science" actor will make a guest appearance on the season five premiere of "The Goldbergs," which is centered around the John Hughes film.

Mitchell-Smith, who portrayed a boy named Wyatt Donnelly in the 1985 film, will play science teacher Mr. Connelly in the ABC show.

"I love hanging out with [creator] Adam [Goldberg] and the crew is really nice," he explained of the cameo. "It was just a fun thing to do!"

Mitchell-Smith, 48, got into acting as a child and appeared in films including "Daniel" and "The Wild Life" before landing his role in "Weird Science." However, in his early twenties, he decided to leave acting behind and pursue academia instead. He now works as a professor of medieval literature at California State University in Long Beach.

"I think I'm just super-nerdy," he said with a laugh. "It's hard to walk away from something that has a lot of cultural capital but I was pretty sure what I liked."

For more about Mitchell-Smith's life today, stories from the set of "Weird Science" and how he got involved with "The Goldbergs," watch the video above.