Adam Sandler Opens Up About Happy Gilmore 2's Cameron Boyce's Tribute

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor shared how the tribute came about while also reflecting on his bond with his late co-star.

"Love that kid. He was one of the sweetest persons I've ever met -- just constantly in a good mood, constantly great energy, loving to everybody," Sandler said. "He felt like a family member to us when we were shooting Grown Ups. Of course, we were going to shoot with Cameron on Hubie Halloween, and we were getting ready to have a great time together, and we lost him."

"We think of him all the time. This was just a moment where we were like, 'What should we throw on the TV?'" he said of the scene, in which Boyce was featured. "We said, 'Might as well throw Cameron in there. He's the man. Keep him part of our family.' And so that's why we did it."

It was a subtle nod, coming early in the film as Adam Sandler's character is checking in for a tee time at a desk. Visible in the lower portion of the screen on the desk is a screen playing a scene from Cameron Boyce's Disney Channel series Jessie featuring the late actor.

"Thank you @adamsandler for honoring Cam’s legacy in Happy Gilmore 2 ⛳️ 🪽💜," Libby Boyce captioned an Instagram post shared to The Cameron Boyce Foundation, as well as an image of Sandler and Cameron together. The actors starred in 2010's Grown Ups and its 2013 sequel Grown Ups 2.

The final slide in Libby's response features Sandler honoring her son in an interview moment during an appearance at The Cameron Boyce Foundation. "He was one of the nicest kids I've ever met, funniest kids I've ever met. I just love talking about him and thinking of him and his parents," Sandler says in the clip. "Proud to be here."

Libby's appreciation post comes a day after she shared an article about the Happy Gilmore 2 tribute to Cameron to her personal Instagram, where she also shared that the comedian had future plans to reconnect with the young star on-screen again.

"Adam and Cameron talked quite a bit in the days leading up to his death," Libby wrote. "Cameron was supposed to be in Hubie Halloween and they were strategizing. They had a bond I think related to being authentic, funny and just keeping it real. Adam always finds a way to keep Cams memory alive which warms our heart.💜"

Hubie Halloween was a 2020 horror comedy starring Sandler, Kevin James, Julie Bowen, and Ray Liotta, among many more of his Hollywood friends. Sandler paid tribute to Boyce in the credits of that film with a line reading, "In loving memory of Cameron Boyce. Gone way too soon and one of the kindest, coolest, funniest, and most talented kids we knew. You live on forever in our hearts and are truly missed every day."

As seen in the Happy Gilmore 2 tribute, Cameron's first major role was opposite Debby Ryan's titular Jessie in the 2011 Disney Channel series, one year after he and Sandler starred together in the first Grown Ups film. He achieved even greater stardom when he joined the cast of the network's blockbuster Descendants series of films as Carlos.

He would appear in the franchise's first three films, from 2015 to 2019, before his untimely death in 2019 at just 20 years old as the result of an epileptic seizure in his sleep.

That same year, The Cameron Boyce Foundation was established in Los Angeles to honor the young star's life and legacy "by aiming to cure epilepsy through funding research, education and awareness campaigns while still supporting causes that were important to Cameron," per the nonprofit's official website.

Following his shocking death, Sandler turned to X to pay tribute to his former young co-star. "Too young. Too sweet. Too funny. Just the nicest, most talented, and most decent kid around," he wrote at the time. "Loved that kid. Cared so much about his family. Cared so much about the world."

"Thank you, Cameron, for all you gave to us. So much more was on the way," Sandler continued. "All our hearts are broken. Thinking of your amazing family and sending our deepest condolences."

More than five years later, Sandler continues to honor and remember his former costar.