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Sean Astin (born February 25, 1971) is an American film 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 the fifth season of 24, voiced Raphael in the 2012 Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, and recently graced our screens as Bob Newby in Stranger Things.

The child actor made his feature film debut at age 13. He portrayed Mikey in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster hit The Goonies (1985). After The Goonies, the young performer 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 with Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron (1987); White Water Summer with Kevin Bacon (1987), The War of the Roses (1989); and the lauded World War II epic film Memphis Belle (1990). He successfully navigated the transition from child actor to young adult in the films Toy Soldiers (1991) and Encino Man (1992).

Astin scored a career defining, triumphant success in the inspirational and universally applauded college football biopic Rudy (1993), about the life-changing struggles and rewards of the title character, Daniel Ruettiger.
He followed his success in Rudy by starring in films throughout the 1990s, including the Showtime science fiction film Harrison Bergeron (1995), the Gulf War film Courage Under Fire (1996), the Warren Beatty political satire Bulworth (1996). and the romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl (1997).

In the early 2000s, Astin experienced another 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 (winner of eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture), 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.

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 went on to directed a 2003 episode of the TV series Angel, titled Soulless as well as an episode of the Showtime Series Jeremiah, where he played the enigmatic Mr. Smith during the 2nd season, and recently portrayed the beloved Bob Newby in Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Astin’s career has also expanded to include voice-over roles. He narrated the American version of the Animal Planet series Meerkat Manor, and voiced the title character in the animated Disney Channel series Special Agent Oso. His other voice work includes Balto III: Wings of Change and many video games including Kingdom Hearts. Astin is the voice of Raphael in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series on Nickelodeon. 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.

In 1994, Astin directed and co-produced (with his wife, Christine Astin) the short film Kangaroo Court, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. While working on Lord of the Rings, Astin made his next short film, The Long and Short of It. The film 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. Looking to make the leap to feature films, Astin and his wife, Christine, are now making a full length movie based on Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal-winning novel Number the Stars.

In 2004, Astin broke into the publishing world and authored the NY TImes Best Selling release of There and Back Again a memoir (co-written with Joe Layden) of his film career with emphasis on his experiences with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Astin is the son of Academy Award Winning actress, Patty Duke and acclaimed actor John Astin. Rounding out the acting family, Sean’s brother Mackenzie Astin enjoys a thriving motion picture and television career and his eldest daughter Alexandra made an appearance in the third installment of Lord of the Rings. Following in his parents footsteps, 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 (portrayed by his real-life mother Patty Duke).

Sean Astin attended the Crossroads High School for the Arts and later a master class at the Stella Adler Conservatory in Los Angeles. Astin graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in History and English (American literature and culture). An alumnus of Los Angeles Valley College, he served on the school’s Board of Directors of the Patrons Association and the Arts Council. He also worked closely with the Kentucky based non-profit National Center for Family Literacy.

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