Sean Astin
Filmography
The Goonies 1985
White Water Summer 1987
Like Father, Like Son 1987
The War of the Roses 1989
Staying Together 1989
Memphis Belle 1990
The Willies 1991
Toy Soldiers 1991
Where the Day Takes You 1992 Encino Man 1992
Rudy 1993
Theresa's Tattoo 1994
Safe Passage 1994
The Low Life 1994
Courage Under Fire 1996
Bulworth 1998
Dish Dogs 1998
Boy Meets Girl 1998
Deterrence 1999
Kimberly 1999
Icebreaker 1999
The Sky Is Falling 2000
The Last Producer 2000 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003
"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 Trilogy. "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 gets scared. These are very basic things about Sam that I have tried to embody in playing him."
Astin's parents are the actor and director John Astin and the actress Patty Duke, with whom he made is television debut in 1981. Inevitably, as a young actor, he has also played a number of sons, including Michael Douglass 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.
Since his first film role as Mikey in Richard Donner's teen adventure, The Goonies, Astin has demonstrated considerable 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, Bullworth and the title role in Rudy. He recieved 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 and American and a Vietnamese soldier, and Kangaroo Court, an inner-city drama starring Gregory Hines and Michael O' Keefe, which recieved considerable critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy offered Astin the oppertunity to take on a role that was unlike any he had played previously: "You have got these characters that are facing larger-than-life obstacles, innocent little big-footed people who are in way over thier 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 form a lower class and is not so well educated as his master. However, as the adventure unfolds, thier 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 in 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 whatever essence of goodness there is within me to come forth and to inhabit the role of Sam, because that's what he is; he's goodness, loyalty, decency. That, I think, is his function in the books."
Author: Brian Sibley
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
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