33 Facts About Sean Astin

1.

Sean Astin is the son of actress Patty Duke and adopted by actor John Astin.

2.

Sean Astin has received various recognitions including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Young Artist Awards.

3.

When Sean Astin was 14, Duke told him that Arnaz was his father, and the two developed a relationship.

4.

However, in his mid-20s, Sean Astin met a relative of Michael Tell who suggested they were related.

5.

Sean Astin set out to find the truth about his biological father, and underwent genetic tests which showed Tell was his biological father.

6.

Sean Astin is of German and Irish ancestry through his mother and Austrian Jewish and Polish Jewish through his biological father.

7.

Sean Astin attended Catholic school and later became a Protestant.

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 movie titled Please Don't Hit Me, Mom, in which he played an 8-year-old child with an abusive mother.

11.

Sean Astin made his film debut at the age of 13 as Mikey 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.

Sean Astin plays his onscreen daughter, Elanor Gamgee, who runs out to him as he returns from the Grey Havens.

16.

Since The Lord of the Rings, Sean Astin has continued to work in film and television.

17.

Sean Astin played the role of Malibu High School principal Mike Matthews in the movie Smile.

18.

Sean Astin directed a 2003 episode of the TV series Angel, titled "Soulless".

19.

Sean Astin played the enigmatic Mr Smith on the second season of the Showtime series Jeremiah.

20.

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.

21.

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.

22.

In March 2012, Sean Astin played a cosmetic surgeon named Takin Mastuhmik in a fake movie 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 movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities.

28.

Sean Astin's wife held the Miss Indiana Teen USA title in 1984.

29.

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".

30.

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.

31.

On October 10,2015, Sean Astin competed in the 2015 Ironman World Championship in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

32.

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.

33.

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.