Sean Patrick Astin is an American actor, director, voice artist, and producer best known for
his film roles as Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mikey Walsh in The Goonies,
and the title character of Rudy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in season five
of 24 and currently voices Raphael in the 2012 Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
TV series and Oso in the Disney Junior show Special Agent Oso. Astin also served as the
campaign manager for his friend, Democrat Dan Adler, a businessman in the entertainment
industry, for California's 36th congressional district special election, 2011.
Early life and education Astin was born Sean Patrick Duke in Santa
Monica, California, the son of actress Patty Duke. At the time, it was reported that entertainer
Desi Arnaz, Jr. was his biological father. In 1994 Astin discovered that his biological
father is actually Michael Tell, a music promoter and writer, and publisher of the newspaper
The Las Vegas Israelite; Tell was married to Patty Duke for several weeks in 1970.
In 1972, Patty Duke married actor John Astin, who then adopted Sean. In 1973, Duke gave
birth to Astin's half-brother Mackenzie Astin, who also became an actor. Although Patty Duke
and John Astin divorced in 1985, Astin has written that he has always considered John
his "real" father. He attended the Crossroads High School for
the Arts and master classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory in Los Angeles. Astin graduated
from UCLA with a B.A. in History and English. An alumnus of Los Angeles Valley College,
he serves on the school's board of directors of the Patrons Association and the Arts Council.
Career Early career
Astin's first acting role was in a 1981 television movie titled Please Don't Hit Me, Mom, in
which he played a child with an abusive mother. He made his film debut at age 13 as Mikey
in The Goonies. After The Goonies, Astin appeared in several
more films, including the Disney made-for-TV movie, The B.R.A.T. Patrol, opposite Nia Long,
Tim Thomerson and Brian Keith; Like Father Like Son; White Water Summer with Kevin Bacon,
The War of the Roses; the World War II film Memphis Belle; Toy Soldiers; Encino Man; and
the college football biopic Rudy, about the life-changing struggles and rewards of the
titular character, Daniel Ruettiger. In 1994, Astin directed and co-produced the
short film Kangaroo Court, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live
Action Short Film. Astin continued to appear in films throughout the 1990s, including the
Showtime science fiction film Harrison Bergeron, the Gulf War film Courage Under Fire, and
the Warren Beatty political satire Bulworth. The Lord of the Rings
In the early 2000s, Astin experienced a career breakthrough with his role as Samwise Gamgee
in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, released in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Along with the many awards bestowed upon the trilogy, particularly its final installment
The Return of the King, Astin received many award nominations for his own performance
in Return of the King, taking home the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor and awards
from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, the Seattle Film Critics, the Utah Film Critics
Association, and the Phoenix Film Critics Society. As an ensemble, the Return of the
King cast received awards from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and the
Screen Actors Guild. He and other cast members became very close
and very good friends through the filming process. He became particularly good friends
with Elijah Wood. Astin's daughter, Alexandra, can be seen in
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. She plays his onscreen daughter, Elanor Gamgee,
who runs out to him as he returns from saying goodbye to Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf.
While working on Lord of the Rings, Astin persuaded a number of fellow cast and crew
members, including director Peter Jackson, to assist him in making his second short film,
The Long and Short of It. The film takes place on a street in Wellington, New Zealand. The
Long and Short of It premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and appears on the
DVD for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, along with a "making of" video.
In 2004, Astin released There and Back Again, a memoir of his film career with emphasis
on his experiences with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The title is derived from the subtitle
of The Hobbit, by Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien; the title also appears in
the film Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King.
Post-Lord of the Rings career Since Lord of the Rings, Astin has continued
to work in film and television. His film roles have included the Adam Sandler comedies 50
First Dates and Click. Astin played the role of Malibu High School principal Mike Matthews
in the movie Smile. In television, Astin guest-starred as Lynn
McGill throughout the fifth season of the Fox drama 24. He also appeared in the made-for-TV
films Hercules and The Colour of Magic and in episodes of Monk, Las Vegas, My Name is
Earl, and Law & Order, among other shows. He directed a 2003 episode of the TV series
Angel, titled "Soulless". He played the enigmatic Mr. Smith on the second season of the Showtime
series Jeremiah. Astin's career has also expanded to include
voice-over roles. He narrated the American version of the Animal Planet series Meerkat
Manor, and voices the title character in the animated Disney Channel series Special Agent
Oso. His other voice work includes Balto III: Wings of Change, in which he voiced Kodi,
a teenage husky who is the son of the titular character, and the video game Kingdom Hearts,
in the latter of which he provided the voice of Hercules, replacing actor Tate Donovan,
who was unavailable but would return for Kingdom Hearts II. Astin is currently the voice of
Raphael in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series on Nickelodeon, which premiered
on September 29, 2012. In 2010, he joined the Stella Adler Los Angeles
Theatre Collective acting company. He and his wife, Christine, are making a movie based
on Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning novel Number the Stars.
Astin portrays the role of Matthew in The Truth & Life Dramatized audio New Testament
Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatized audio version of the New Testament,
which uses the RSV-CE. In March 2012, Astin played a cosmetic surgeon
named Takin Mastuhmik in a fake movie trailer entitled Boobathon which appeared on Funny
or Die. In March 2014, Astin played a soldier in Boys
of Abu Ghraib, a military thriller inspired by the events that made worldwide news in
2004. Personal life
Astin married Christine Louise Harrell on July 11, 1992. They have three daughters:
Alexandra, Elizabeth, and Isabella, all with the middle name Louise. His wife held the
Miss Indiana Teen USA title in 1984. Astin has a tattoo on his ankle of the word
"nine" written with the Tengwar script, commemorating his Lord of the Rings involvement and his
character's membership in the Fellowship of the Ring. Seven of the eight other Fellowship
actors all have the same tattoo. John Rhys-Davies' stunt double has the tattoo as well.
During the 2004 United States presidential election, Astin backed Senator John Kerry
and participated in Kerry's campaign rally in Portland, Oregon, as the opening speaker.
In the 2008 presidential election, Astin lent his support to Senator Hillary Clinton and
made multiple campaign appearances on her behalf, including joining Clinton's daughter,
Chelsea Clinton, at some stops. Astin is a vegetarian. He attended Catholic
school and is a Protestant Christian, attending a Presbyterian church in Bel Air, California,
US. Astin studied Nichiren Buddhism, John Astin's faith, for a time. Sean's mother,
of German and Irish ancestry, is Catholic, and Sean's biological father, Michael Tell,
is of Austrian Jewish descent. Filmography
Film Television
Awards and nominations References
External links Official website
Sean Astin at the Internet Movie Database Sean Astin at AllMovie