Sean Astin � Sam

�He is a gardener: that�s the first thing to remember about him� Sean Astin is talking about Sam Gamgee, his character in �The Lord Of The Rings�. �As I read the book, I was looking for keys to unlock Sam�s personality. He is a gardener and he�s loyal and honest, and sometimes he gets scared. These are very basic things about Sam that I have tried to I embody in playing him�.
Astin�s parents are the actor and director, John Astin, and actress, Patty Duke with whom he made his television debut in 1981. Inevitably, as a young actor, he has also �played� a number of sons including Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner�s boy in Danny DeVito�s �The War of the Roses� and Izzy, Sam Shepard and Susan Sarandon�s son in �Safe Passage�.
In a succession of movies since Astin�s first film role as Mikey in Richard Donner�s teen adventure, �The Goonies�, Astin has demonstrated dramatic talent in a filmography that ranges from zany comedies (Dudley Moore�s �Like Father, Like Son) to hard-edged dramas such as �Where the Day Takes You�. His more than thirty feature film appearances include, �Staying Together�, �Encino Man�, �Memphis Belle�, �Courage Under Fire�, �Bulworth� and the title-role in �Rudy�. He received the Best Actor award for �Low Life� at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival.
In addition to acting, Astin has embarked on a parallel career as a director with two short films: �On My Honor� about an American and a Vietnamese soldier, and �Kangaroo Court�, an inner-city drama starring Gregory Hines and Michael O�Keefe, which received considerable critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination.


�The Lord of the Rings Trilogy� offered Astin the opportunity to take on a role that was unlike any he had played previously: �You have got these characters who are facing larger than life obstacles: innocent, little, big-footed people who are in way over their heads. Except that I don�t think the hobbits see themselves as being �little� until they are standing next to something that�s daunting and intimidating. So I�ve tried to approach the character as being as real and human as possible.�
Sam begins his journey as Frodo�s manservant. He comes from a lower class and is not so well educated as his master. However, as the adventure unfolds, their relationship deepens into one of love and mutual dependence: �To me there is nothing so admirable as a passionate love-bond between two human beings, Sam loves Frodo and wants to protect him and Frodo is extremely protective of Sam. So what you have are these two people locked into this journey together. They don�t need to explain what they are to each other; they don�t need to talk about it; they just are.�
Summing up his approach to the role of Sam, Sean Astin says �I just wanted to allow wahtever essence of goodness, loyalty, decency; that, I think, is his function in the book.�

Full Name: Sean Patrick Astin
Birthdate: Feb 25, 1971
Birthplace: Santa Monica, CA
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: unknown
Weight: unknown
Spouse: Christine
Children: Alexandra Louise Astin

Aliases: Gardener
Date of Birth: 2980 T.A.
Race: Hobbit (Harfoot)
Height: 3-4 feet
Date of Death: Unknown
Alignment: Good
Parents: Hamfast Gamgee and Bell Goodchild
Spouse: Rose Cotton
Date of Marriage: 3019 T.A.
Children: Elanor, Frodo, Pippin, Bilbo, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Merry, Tolman, Robin, Rose, Daisy, Primrose, and Ruby

"I wonder what sort of tale weve landed in"

"Don't damage one of my pans, or I'll carve you into mincemeat" (to Smeagol)

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1