'''Sean Astin''' (born February 25, 1971 in Santa Monica, California) is a film actor, director, and Oscar nominated producer.

Early life

He is the son of actors Patty Duke and John Astin, although his biological father is Michael Tell, a Jewish-American writer who divorced Patty Duke shortly before her marriage to Astin. At the time of his birth, it was widely assumed that his biological father was Desi Arnaz, Jr., although this has been stated as incorrect. Sean is the older brother of Mackenzie Astin, also an actor (in ''The Facts of Life'').

Film career

Astin has gained much of his acting fame from several major roles. At age 13, he debuted on the silver screen as Mikey in ''The Goonies'' (1985). He had a small role in 1989's ''The War of the Roses'' and in 1993 got the memorable part as the title character in ''Rudy''. Astin recently played Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. He also played the brother of Lucy (Drew Barrymore) in the Adam Sandler film ''50 First Dates''. He even provided the voice for Balto's son, Kodi in the third direct-to-video sequel of ''Balto''.

In 1994, he directed and co-produced (with his wife, Christine) the Academy Award nominated short film ''Kangaroo Court''.

While working on ''The Two Towers'' he persuaded a number of fellow cast and crew members, including director Peter Jackson, to act in or work as crew on his short film, ''The Long and Short of It'' (2003), which takes place on a street in Wellington, New Zealand. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, 2003, and appears on the "standard edition" DVD of ''The Two Towers'' as an extra feature together with a "making of" video.

Astin appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of the FOX drama ''24''.

He also has a role in the Adam Sandler's Click

Personal life

Astin married Christine Harrell on July 11, 1992. They have three daughters, Alexandra (b. November 27, 1996), Elizabeth (b. August 6, 2002) and Isabella (b. July 22, 2005), all with the same middle name of Louise.

His book ''There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale'' (2004, ISBN 0312331460), co-written by Joe Layden, is an account of his experiences before, during and after filming the ''Lord of the Rings'' movies. The title is derived from the subtitle of ''The Hobbit'' by ''Lord of the Rings'' author J. R. R. Tolkien. He jumped at the chance to work in New Zealand again in 2004, as the mythical "Linus", tutor of Hercules, in Robert Halmi Senior's Hallmark sponsored remake.

Education

* Graduated with honors from UCLA with B.A.s in History and English (American Literature and Culture).
* Alumnus of and now serves on the Board of Directors of the Patrons Association and the Arts Council for Los Angeles Valley College.
* Crossroads High School for the Arts
* Participated in master classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory in Los Angeles

Filmography

Films Sean Astin acted in:

 

'''Year'''	'''Title'''	'''Role'''	'''Other notes'''
rowspan="1"
2008	''Cat Tale''	''Rover (voice)''
2007	''The Final Season''	''Kent Stock''
rowspan="5"
2006	''Cowboys for Christ''
''What Love Is''	''George''
''Asterix and the Vikings''	''Justforkix (English voice)''
''Click''	''Bill''
''24''	''Lynn McGill''	''(Television)''
rowspan="6"
2005	''Smile''	''Mr. Matthews''
''Bigger Than the Sky''	''Ken Zorbell''
''Slipstream''	''Stuart Conway''
''Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School''	''Kip Kipling''
''Borderland''	''Randall''
''Thanks to Gravity''	''Coach Amal''
rowspan="3"
2004	''Balto III: Wings of Change''	''Kodi (voice)''
''Elvis Has Left the Building''	''Aaron''
''50 First Dates''	''Doug Whitmore''
2003	''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''	''Samwise Gamgee''
2002	''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''	''Samwise Gamgee''
2001	''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''	''Samwise Gamgee''
rowspan="4"
2000	''Dish Dogs''	''Morgan (voice)''
''The Last Produce''	''Bo Pomerantz''
''Icebreaker''	''Matt Foster''
''The Sky is Falling''	''Mr. Schwartz''
rowspan="2"
1999	''Deterrence''	''Ralph''
''Kimberly''	''Bob''
rowspan="2"
1998	''Boy Meets Girl''	''Mike''
''Bulworth''	''Gary''
1996	''Courage Under Fire''	''Patella''
1995	''The Low Life''	''Andrew''
1994	''Safe Passage''	''Izzy Singer''
1993	''Rudy''	''Daniel E. "Rudy" Ruettiger''
rowspan="2"
1992	''Where the Day Takes You''	''Greg''
''Encino Man''	''Dave Morgan''
rowspan="2"
1991	''Toy Soldiers''	''William "Billy" Tepper''
''The Willies''	''Michael''
1990	''Memphis Belle''	''Sgt. Richard "Rascal" Moore''
rowspan="2"
1989	''The War of the Roses''	''Josh at 17''
''Staying Together''	''Duncan McDermott''
rowspan="2"
1987	''Like Father Like Son''	''Clarence aka Trigger''
''White Water Summer''	''Alan''
1985	''The Goonies''	''Mikey Walsh''

External links

* Sean Astin's official home page
* Sean Astin Page
* Sean Astin Gallery
*Sean Astin

For more information about Sean Astin, please visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Astin

Biography courtesy of the brilliant Wikipedia!