Happy Gilmore cast and character guide: Who plays whom in the 1996 sports comedy film?

Adam Sandler's titular Happy Gilmore recently returned to swing his golf club in Happy Gilmore 2, the sequel to his 1996 film, which has become a cult classic over the years.

It follows Gilmore, an aspiring ice hockey player with a short temper, which has limited his professional prospects. Still, he finds success in golf when a former pro golf star recognizes his talent. Happy needs money to pay off his grandmother's debt, so he enters a competition.

Critics have given the film a score of 65% at the review aggregator platform Rotten Tomatoes. However, fans loved it even more, as the Popcornmeter shows a score of 85% there as of this writing.

Just three months before its sequel came into fruition on Netflix, it was re-released by Fandango Media.

We see many new faces in the latest movie, but familiar faces other than Sandler returned in it too. That said, we will be discussing the main characters from the original film in this list.

Happy Gilmore cast and character guide

Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore

On top of the list is the film's lead character, the hotheaded Happy Gilmore, who is trying to make his way up in ice hockey. However, God has different plans for him, it seems, as he is talked by a former pro golf player into playing a golf championship, which will change his life forever.

Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin

Christopher McDonald (middle) (Image via Getty)

The film's main antagonist, Shooter McGavin, is played by Christopher McDonald, who is an arrogant person but still the tour's presumed favorite. Despite being a 'pro,' he sees Happy as a threat to his winning path, so he uses whatever bad tactics he's got to demoralize the new golfer.

Julie Bowen as Virginia Venit

Julie Bowen is Virginia Venit in the film. Her character is a public relations director on the tour but she soon becomes Happy's love interest in the story after she promises him that she'll help in controlling his temper. Later, they become husband and wife, though we came to know about this in the second film.

Carl Weathers as Derick "Chubbs" Peterson

Chubbs is the one who gives Happy the idea to try golf after seeing the pro material in him while he was trying to toughen up for the next hockey season. Chubbs tells Happy that Sports Illustrated, a major sports magazine, once labeled him as the next Arnold Palmer. Though that never happens, as an alligator bites his hand off. They become friends, and Happy also takes revenge on the one-eyed alligator whose one eye was torn by Chubbs.

Allen Covert as Otto

Otto is perhaps the most unexpected character to appear alongside Happy in the movie. He is a homeless man trying to make some bucks by doing whatever he can. So he washes cars in the golf club even though he isn't allowed there and is thrown out. Later, Happy realizes that he needs a caddy on the golf tour, so he hires him on the go.