Sean Astin was first seen on-screen in the 1981 television film ‘Please Don’t Hit Me, Mom.’ The next year, Sean was seen in another television film 'The Rules of Marriage.'
In 1985, he made his film debut in ‘The Goonies,’ an adventure comedy film and received a ‘Young Artist Award’ for ‘Best Starring Performance by a Young Actor – Motion Picture’ for his performance in the movie. Sean also appeared in 'The O'Briens' that same year. In 1987, Sean appeared in two movies: ‘Like Father Like Son’ and ‘White Water Summer’ where he played the role of a 17-year old ‘Josh Rose.’
After a hiatus for a year, Sean appeared in the 1989 black comedy ‘The War of the Roses,’ directed by Danny DeVito. The movie was a massive box office hit and became the thirteenth highest-grossing film of 1989. The same year, he starred as ‘Duncan McDermott’ in the comedy-drama film ‘Staying Together.’
In 1991, Sean Astin starred in the action film ‘Toy Soldiers.’ While the movie was panned by the critics, Sean earned a lot of praise for his role and even received a nomination for the ‘Young Artist Award’ for ‘Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture.’ His next release in 1991 was the Brian Peck-directed comedy film ‘The Willies.’
Sean Astin then appeared in movies ‘Where the Day Takes You’ (1992), ‘Encino Man’ (1992), and ‘Rudy’ (1993) where he portrayed the role of the famous motivational speaker ‘Daniel Ruettiger.’ He received an ‘Academy Award’ nomination in the category of ‘Best Live Action Short Film,’ for ‘Kangaroo Court,’ which was directed and co-produced by him in 1994.
Thereafter, Sean went on to star in ‘Teresa's Tattoo’ (1994), ‘The Low Life’ (1995), ‘Harrison Bergeron’ (1995), ‘Courage Under Fire’ (1996), ‘Wag the Dog’ (1997), ‘Boy Meets Girl’ (1998), ‘Bulworth’ (1998), and ‘Deterrence’ (1999). In the year 2000, Sean Astin appeared in 4 movies: ‘Dish Dogs,’ ‘The Last Producer,’ ‘Icebreaker,’ and ‘The Sky Is Falling.’
In 2001, Sean appeared in the fantasy-adventure film ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.’ He played the role of ‘Samwise Gamgee’ for which he earned a ‘Screen Actors Guild’ award nomination. The movie went on to become a massive box office success and critical success. The following year, he appeared in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ in which he reprised his role as ‘Samwise Gamgee.’ This time, he earned an ‘MTV Movie Award’ and ‘Visual Effects Society’ for his performance in the film.
In 2004, Sean returned to television and lent his voice to the character ‘Pix the Elf in the movie ‘Higglytown Heroes.’ He then played the role of ‘Linus’ in the 2005 miniseries ‘Hercules.’ The year 2005 proved to be lucky for Sean as he had 6 releases, including ‘Smile,’ ‘Bigger Than the Sky’, ‘Slipstream’, ‘Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School’, ‘Borderland,’ and ‘Thanks to Gravity.’
Thereafter, Sean appeared in movies like ‘What Love Is’ (2006), ‘Asterix and the Vikings’ (2006), ‘The Final Season’ (2007), ‘Spirit of the Forest’ (2008), and ‘Demoted’ (2011), and ‘The Freemason’ where he played the ‘Leon Weed’ which earned him the ‘Utah Film Award’ for ‘Best Actor.’ He was also seen in movies like ‘The Surface’ (2014), Do You Believe? (2015), ‘The Do-Over’ (2016), ‘Bad Kids of Crestview Academy’ (2017), and Hero Mode (2021).
Sean Astin has also voiced the DC comic character ‘Shazam’ in the Justice League animated movie series, including ‘Justice League: War’ (2014), ‘Justice League: Throne of Atlantis’ (2015), and ‘Justice League Dark: Apokolips War’ (2020).
He is currently playing the ‘narrator’ in the animated television series ‘The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants.’
After inheriting a mysterious ring forged millennia ago by Dark Lord Sauron to conquer Middle-earth, Frodo Baggins volunteers to carry it to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. In this epic quest, he is accompanied by The Fellowship consisting of Wizard Gandalf, Elf Legolas, Dwarf Gimli, Boromir of Gondor, Isildur's heir Aragorn, and fellow Hobbits Sam, Merry, Pippin.
The second installment of The Lord of the Rings saga continues Frodo and Sam's epic quest to destroy the One Ring and sees them enlisting the guidance of the mysterious Gollum to traverse through the treacherous Dead Marshes, while their friends from the Fellowship, including resurrected Gandalf, help free King Theoden of Rohan from Saruman's deadly spell.
The Goonies are a group of Oregon children who are trying to save their neighborhood from developers. After discovering a map to the treasure of the 17th century’s notorious pirate One-Eyed Willy, they head out on an adventure to find the fortune, but are pursued by a family of criminals who want to grab the riches. Finally, who gets the treasure?
Named one of the best 25 sports movies, the film focuses on Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger’s struggle to achieve his dream; that is to play football at the University of Notre Dame. Being dyslexic, he neither has the grades nor the money to enter the university. He also lacks the stature to play college football. Yet he does not give up
Rick Penning, a troubled yet extremely talented rugby player, is sent to a juvenile detention center. He is required to play for the prison team but is pitted against his father's team at a leading tournament, the National Championships.
Memphis Belle is an action war drama film which tells the story of a bomber plane during the Second World War, which is piloted by a young crew. They are assigned a mission to bomb a heavily defended town that causes several casualties to the Allied Forces.
Henry Roth, a veterinarian in Hawaii, spends his time philandering with the countless women vacationing in the island. He falls for the beautiful Lucy Whitmore and manages to impress her, but she suffers from short-time memory loss and cannot remember him the next day. Determined to mend his ways, Henry decides to woo Lucy again every day.
The War of the Roses is a romantic comedy film, revolving around a Washington lawyer and his wife, who decide to get divorced after a reasonably happy life. However, they face a vicious divorce battle, while trying to divide the possessions.
Bulworth is a comedy drama film which tells the story of a suicidal and disillusioned politician who puts out a contract killing on himself, so that his family will be able to benefit from his insurance policy. He also decides to be honest with his voters, but soon after he falls in love with a young woman, he rethinks his decision.
Courage Under Fire is a mystery war drama film, which tells the story of a US Army Officer, who is still dejected about a mistake he made during the Desert Storm incident. Now he has to investigate a female chopper commander, to find out whether she is worthy of the Medal of Honor.
A group of terrorists, who are seeking the release of a South American drug baron, decide to take schoolchildren as hostages. However, a group of troublemaking boys decide to take a stand and fight back.
Michael Newman is unable to spend more time with his family while he is pursuing his dream promotion at work. He wishes for a universal remote to control his life, and gets one from the eccentric inventor Morty. He pauses, skips and rewinds through his life until he eventually realizes that he has lost control of his life altogether.
In 1973, Tony Nathan, a skilled high school footballer of African-American origin, tries to embrace his talent while also struggling against racial tensions in a hateful environment.
Vic is an experienced guide who accompanies a group of teenagers on their first big outdoor adventure in the wilderness. However, one of the boys, Alan, who has led quite a sheltered life, finds himself being pushed to the limit. Therefore, he begins to resent Vic and they get alienated. However, shortly after, Vic finds himself in danger, and it is only the boys who can save him.
Encino Man is a comedy film, which tells the story of two college guys, who find a caveman in their backyard and try to introduce him to modern life. They even take him to their college, and pass him off as a student.
The Do-Over is an action adventure comedy film, which tells the story of two guys who are going through difficult times. Therefore, they decide to fake their own deaths and start new lives with new identities. Problem arises when they realize that the people whom they are pretending to be, are even in deeper trouble.
Three friends take a road trip to Mexico from Texas. They have fun a, but their lives turn upside down when one of them is captured by a human-sacrificing cult. With the help of a bartender named Valeria, the other two begin investigation to find and save their friend.
Although Allyson Field is happily married with three kids, she finds her life filled with anxiety. After she writes a blog post about her constant stress as well as feelings of inadequacy, her husband recommends her to spend a night out with her friends. However, things get complicated when their dinner reservations get cancelled.
Like Father Like Son is a fantasy comedy film which tells the story of Chris, a mediocre high school student whose life takes a strange turn, after he switches minds with his father Jack, who is a well-known surgeon. They are forced to live the life of the other, and needless to say, this leads to problems in school as well as work. However, they both begin to develop an insight to the problems that the other faces.
A group of vacationers in the Caribbean think that they have found the perfect spot for their bachelor party, but things get ugly when a deadly virus is unleashed. They try to find a way to survive before they all end up dead.
Upon seeing that his world is being destroyed and his friends are disappearing mysteriously, a young boy named Sora decides to set out on a quest to find his friends and prevent the forces of darkness from succeeding in their mission.
The Justice League finds out that Earth is likely to be targeted by the evil supervillain Darkseid. Therefore, they unite to protect the Earth from the insidious influence of Darkseid, and stop the invasion.
Through interviews with several game developers, publishers and consumers, in this documentary film, filmmaker Jeremy Snead examines the history of video game history and culture. He also tries to show how video games are made, marketed and consumed.
A group of Vikings raid a small village named Gaul, and kidnaps the nephew of the chief. The chief decides to take the help of Asterix and Obelix and asks them to bring back his nephew. However, things get complicated as the nephew has started having feelings for the daughter of the Viking chief.
This animated comedy film tells the story of Alvin, Simon and Theodore, who must defeat a rival female music group, in order to save the music programme of their school.
Sean Astin Awards
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Best On-Screen Team | 2003 |
