1. Sean Astin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1994 for the short film Kangaroo Court.
40 Facts About Sean Astin
1. 2.
Sean Astin is the son of actress Patty Duke and was adopted in 1972 by her then-husband, actor John Sean Astin.
3.
Sean Astin was born in Santa Monica, California, on February 25,1971, the son of actress Patty Duke.
4.
When Duke became pregnant, she was unsure whether Tell, Arnaz or actor John Sean Astin was the father, and Tell offered to marry her as a way out of the scandal.
5.
When Sean Astin was 14, Duke told him that Arnaz was his biological father.
6.
Almost a decade later, in 1994, Sean Astin met Tell's niece, who suggested that Sean Astin get a paternity test.
7.
Sean Astin is of German and Irish ancestry through his mother, and Jewish ancestry through his biological father.
8.
Sean Astin attended the Crossroads High School for the Arts and undertook master classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory in Los Angeles.
9.
An alumnus of Los Angeles Valley College, Sean Astin served on the school's board of directors of the Patrons Association and the Arts Council.
10.
Sean Astin's first acting role was in a 1981 television film titled Please Don't Hit Me, Mom, in which he played an eight-year-old child with an abusive mother.
11.
Sean Astin made his film debut at age 13 as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies.
12.
In 1994, Sean Astin directed and co-produced the short film Kangaroo Court, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film.
13.
Sean Astin has appeared 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.
14.
Sean Astin received seven award nominations for his own performance, and won five, including the Saturn Award, the Sierra Award, the Seattle Film Critics Award, and the Utah Film Critics Award, and the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male or Female in an Effects Film.
15.
Since The Lord of the Rings, Sean Astin has continued to work in film and television.
16.
Sean Astin played the role of Malibu High School principal Mike Matthews in the film Smile.
17.
Sean Astin directed a 2003 episode of the TV series Angel, titled "Soulless".
18.
Sean Astin played the enigmatic Mr Smith on the second season of the Showtime series Jeremiah.
19.
Sean Astin narrated the American version of the Animal Planet series Meerkat Manor, and voices the title character in Special Agent Oso which aired on Playhouse Disney from 2009 to 2011 and Disney Junior from 2011 to early 2014.
20.
Sean Astin voiced Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series on Nickelodeon, which premiered on September 29,2012, running for five seasons and 124 episodes, and ending on November 12,2017.
21.
In 2010, Sean Astin joined the Stella Adler Los Angeles Theatre Collective acting company.
22.
In March 2012, Sean Astin played a cosmetic surgeon named Takin Mastuhmik in a fake trailer entitled Boobathon which appeared on Funny or Die.
23.
In March 2014, Sean Astin played a soldier in Boys of Abu Ghraib, a military thriller inspired by the events that made worldwide news in 2004.
24.
In October 2015, Sean Astin played Hank Erwin in Woodlawn, a story about how a high school football team overcame racism and hate, and found unity and success through following Jesus.
25.
In 2017, Sean Astin played the role of Bob Newby in season two of the Netflix series Stranger Things.
26.
In 2019, Sean Astin reprised the role of Newby in flashback scenes during the series' third season, played the role of Dr Greg Pemberton on several episodes of The Big Bang Theory, and had a guest appearance on the fifth season of Supergirl.
27.
In May 2020, Sean Astin joined Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart, which reunites the casts of popular films through video-conferencing and promotes donations to non-profit charities.
28.
Sean Astin narrated the 2023 comedy film Go West, the first theatrical film from the original cast of the sketch comedy show Studio C, produced by their own company, JK Studios.
29.
Sean Astin made his Broadway debut as Santa Claus in a revival of Elf the Musical, which ran at the Marquis Theatre from November 2024 to January 2025.
30.
Sean Astin's wife held the Miss Indiana Teen USA title in 1984.
31.
Sean 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".
32.
In January 2015, Sean Astin completed the Dopey Challenge at the Walt Disney World Resort which involves running a 5k, 10k, half-marathon and full marathon on four consecutive days.
33.
On October 10,2015, Sean Astin competed in the 2015 Ironman World Championship in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
34.
Sean Astin completed his master's degree in public administration and policy at American University; in 2024.
35.
From 1995 to 2005, Astin served as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army and afterwards served on the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation for two years during the George W Bush administration.
36.
Sean Astin was awarded the honorary Emeritus Civilian Aide designation in 2022.
37.
Sean Astin served as the campaign manager for Democrat Dan Adler, a businessman friend in the entertainment industry, in California's 36th congressional district special election of 2011.
38.
On July 29,2024, Sean Astin appeared in the White Dudes for Harris Zoom call expressing his support for Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.
39.
Sean Astin additionally appeared at the 2024 Democratic National Convention during the nominating roll call vote on August 20,2024, representing Indiana.
40.
In September 2024, Sean Astin urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign SB 1047, a bill that would require advanced AI models to undergo safety testing before deployment.