Sean Astin was born on 25 February 1971, in Santa Monica, California USA, of American ancestry. Sean has been involved in the entertainment industry since 1981, and is perhaps best known for his film roles as Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. He is also a publisher, a writer and has also contributed to music promotion, as well as being a voice-over actor.
So how rich is the famous actor Sean Astin? Sources say that Sean Astin’s net worth is currently estimated as high as $40 million. Sean has managed to save his wealth while being not only an actor, but also a film director as well as an occasional producer.
Sean Astin Net Worth $40 Million
Sean Astin’s mom, Patty Duke also worked in the film industry. His biological father is Michael Tell, and he and Patty and Michael were married in 1970, however in 1972, Patty married John Astin who adopted Sean, hence his surname. Sean Astin attended Crossroads High School for the Arts and the Stella Adler Conservatory, before graduating from UCLA with a BA in History and English. It was in 1981 when Sean Astin’s net worth started growing, with his first performance on TV in a movie entitled “Please Don`t Hit Me, Mom”. Sean’s debut in the cinema industry was in “The Goonies”, in 1985 at 13 years of age, which certainly increased the size of his net worth. Astin then appeared in several more films, including theDisney made-for-TV movie, “The B.R.A.T. Patrol”, “Like Father Like Son”(1987), “White Water Summer”(1987), “The War of the Roses”(1989), “Memphis Belle”(1990), “Toy Soldiers”(1991), and the biopic “Rudy”(1993), about the life of dyslexic Daniel Ruettiger. Sean Astin also ‘appeared’ as a voice actor on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a TV show aired on Nickelodeon.
Sean Astin’s role in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, released in 2001, 2002, and 2003 was his breakthrough performance, for which Astin received many award nominations for “Return of the King”, winning the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, plus other awards from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, the Seattle Film Critics, the Utah Film Critics Association, and the Phoenix Film Critics Society.
Sean Aston has a long list of movies in which he has appeared since, including over 30 on the big screen, such as “50 First Dates”, “Click”, “Asterix and the Vikings”, “Spirit of the Forest”, “Dorothy and the Witches of Oz”, and “Cabin Fever: Patient Zero”.
Additionally Sean has been busy on TV, guest-starring as Lynn McGill in the 5th season of the Fox drama “24”, playing Mr. Smith in the 2nd season of the Showtime series “Jeremiah“, appearing in “Hercules” and “The Colour of Magic”, as well as in episodes of “Monk”, “Las Vegas”, “My Name is Earl” (in which he parodied his 1993 film “Rudy”), and “Law and Order“ among other shows. Sean Astin also directed a 2003 episode of the TV series Angel, entitled “Soulless”.
Sean`s most recent projects include “Moms` Night Out”, “Ribbit”, “The Surface”, and “Justice League: Throne of Atlantis”.
With regards to the actor`s personal biography, Sean Astin has been married to Christine Harrell since 1992. The couple have welcomed three daughters named Alexandra (born 1996), Elizabeth (born 2002), Isabella (born 2005). It is known that Christine Harrell has been working along with Sean on business projects. Sean is a confirmed vegetarian.
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble, MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action)
Movies
"The Goonies" (1985), "Please Don`t Hit Me, Mom", "50 First Dates", "Click", "Asterix and the Vikings", "Rudy" (1993), "Spirit of the Forest", "Dorothy and the Witches of Oz", "Cabin Fever: Patient Zero", "The Lord of the Rings trilogy"
TV Shows
"24", "Hercules", "The Colour of Magic", "Monk", "Las Vegas", "My Name is Earl", "Law and Order"
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Quote
1
I have a very eclectic kind of upbringing in regards to religiosity or religion. You know, my mom was sort of a Catholic and then a lapsed Catholic and then an ex-communicated Catholic and then a brought-back-into-the-fold Catholic and then a kind of Shirley Maclaine New Age kind of something-or-other (laughter). And then my dad was very secular, raised by a school-teacher as a mom and a scientist as a father and then I was in Catholic school for three years as a kid; there was a confirmation process and I wanted to be confirmed, I had never been baptized. And so I asked if I could be baptized and he said no, not until I was 18. And then he discovered Buddhism a few years later and he wanted me to be a Buddhist, and so I kinda practiced Buddhism for a little while, and my older brother was sort of a swinging singles guy who discovered a guy named Swami Vivekananda and like shaved his head and went to India when I was like 10 or 11. And he was someone who I always admired, so I kind of got to see that strain. My biological father is Jewish and I never really knew him until I was 25 but then I did so he's kind of an interesting and wonderful man who I've gotten to know over the last few years, so there's kind of that strand.
2
[on Rudy (1993)] I loved this movie because it shows that if you work hard, you can achieve anything.
3
The sidekick business has been good to me.
4
[2/12/04, on souvenirs from Middle-earth] I got Sam's backpack, which began to feel like a second skin, albeit a very uncomfortable skin. I also got to keep Sam's sword, as well as some Hobbit feet and ears. I can take them out and make the whole family smile!
5
[2/12/04] I remember, before we started principal photography on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Peter Jackson screened Braveheart (1995) and The Thin Red Line (1998) for the cast. He said, "This is the tone I want to strike with the Ring movies. I want to see the grime on their faces, the dirt on the ground, and I want that level of gritty emotionalism and intensity." I think his idea was that you can enjoy the fantasy more if you really believe it.
6
[2/12/04] I don't care if I'm 5'7" and pretty heavy, weight-wise, in the film [the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy]. I still see myself as Errol Flynn. Even when I was a little boy, playing war games in the back yard, I pictured myself as the hero.
7
[12/14/03, on his character Sam Gamgee] I spent the film doing lots of things, but the crying is what lived. He [Peter Jackson] tricks you into thinking you're going to get to do all these brave, heroic things most of the time, and you have to cry once in a while . . . and then he cuts out the heroic moments and you're left thinking, "I look like a big baby".
8
[12/18/03, about the scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) in which Sam helps Frodo up Mount Doom] It was an incredible acting experience, being on the side of a volcano with that language. That language is so beautiful: "It'll be springtime soon, and they'll be sowing barley on the fields." When Peter [Peter Jackson] came up to tell me to lower my arm, something like that, tears were streaming down his face, and to see him that emotional just forced me into it . . . It [finally seeing the last three reels of the film] was a huge cry. It was all of the tension and stress and pressure of having a wife and children, having a career, the investment of these movies. I was sobbing and heaving, I could barely breathe, and the movie facilitated that. It was just a huge release.
9
I'd never heard of the "Lord of the Rings", actually. So I went to the bookstore and there it was, three shelves of books about Tolkien and Middle-earth, and I was like, "Holy cow, what else am I missing out on?"
10
[refuting the remarks of cast and crew that he IS Samwise Gamgee] But I'm not really Sam . . . nobody could be that good, that noble. He's just better than the rest of us. I'm a lot more Hollywood than Sam would ever be.
11
I was told I had to gain a lot of weight because Hobbits are very portly. Peter [Peter Jackson] is forever suggesting I have more food: "A little more food for Mr. Astin."
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Fact
1
He and his brother Mackenzie both guest starred in Season 9 of N.C.I.S. Mackenzie was in the episode "Life Before His Eyes" and Sean was in "The Tell".
2
His biological father, Michael Tell, is of Austrian Jewish and Polish Jewish ancestry. His mother, Patty Duke, was of seven eighths Irish and one eighth German, descent.
3
Narrated the American version of Meerkat Manor. The British version was narrated by Bill Nighy, who also preceded him in the role of Sam Gamgee.
4
His casting in the fifth season of 24 (2001) came about by sheer luck. One day at his chiropractor's, he discovered that Joel Surnow was also a patient; they had a short meeting and Surnow offered him the role of Lynn McGill.
5
Attending Collectormania 7 at Milton Keynes, and... negotiating to appear in a baseball movie if funding can be secured. [May 2005]
Gave the 2008 commencement address at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, along with Kent Stock, Luther alum, whose story Sean depicted in The Final Season (2007).
In The Goonies (1985), his character cries out "Holy Mackenzie!" His brother is Mackenzie Astin. He claimed he was allowed to keep the treasure map used in the film. However, the map was lost forever when his mother discovered it several years later, thought it was just a crinkled piece of paper, and threw it in the trash.
16
July 22, 2005, welcomed third child, daughter Isabella Louise at 5lb 4oz. She was a month premature.
17
He is a Verizon Literacy Champion and the National Center for Family Literacy celebrity spokesperson.
The title of his autobiography, "There and Back Again," is actually the alternate title for "The Hobbit" and, in the story, is the title of Bilbo Baggins' autobiography.
20
Is the second actor from a "Lord of the Rings" adaptation to have a relative in an Addams Family adaptation. His father, John Astin, played Gomez on The Addams Family (1964). John Huston, who voiced Gandalf in the animated version of The Return of the King (1980), is the father of Anjelica Huston, who played Morticia in the films.
21
September 2004 - Attended the Armaggeddon Pulp Culture Expo Convention in Wellington, New Zealand, as a Lord of the Rings guest.
Attended Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, California, with actor/musician Jack Black. Was cast in a school play/film when Black backed out.
25
Started his own production company, Lava Entertainment, in the late 1980s.
26
Appeared at Wizard World signing autographs on August 9, 2003.
27
While filming The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Astin (as Samwise Gamgee) ran into a lake to stop Frodo (Elijah Wood). When he did this, he stepped on a piece of glass and had to be rushed to the hospital. He received many stitches to repair the injury.
28
Announced at the Texas Film Festival on 22 February 2003 that he has optioned the book "Issac's Storm" and is planning on shooting an epic film centered around the Galveston Hurricane of 1900.
29
In February 2003, Sean was appointed to the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
30
Had to gain 35 to 40 pounds for his role of Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
31
During a break in principal photography from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Astin directed trilogy director Peter Jackson and fellow cast members in a five-minute short film, The Long and Short of It (2003), about camaraderie and friendship within difficult working environments, which mirrored a significant theme of the trilogy. Astin was able to borrow a cutting-edge digital camera from Lucasfilm representatives (who had been demonstrating the camera for Jackson) for a day to make the short. The film was included as a bonus on the DVD release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
32
August 6, 2002, welcomed second child daughter Elizabeth Louise.
33
On 4 December 2001, Sean had his image as Samwise Gamgee immortalized on a 90-cent New Zealand postage stamp that he shares with "Lord of the Rings" co-star Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins). However, Sean's last name is spelled incorrectly on the presentation pack of the stamps (Austin instead of Astin).
34
Graduated from UCLA with honors & a B.A. in History & English.
35
His biological father is actually Michael Tell, whom Patty Duke was married to for less than a month in 1970. Sean was adopted at age 3 by John Astin, but considers both men to be his father.
36
Left the room halfway during recording DVD commentary for The Goonies (1985) and never returned. The recording session started late, and Sean had an earlier commitment to introduce friend Joe Pantoliano who was M.C.'ing at a local theatre. Left the recording studio to change clothes, then returned to explain why he had to leave, give a "shout out to Joey Pants," and left an action figure of Sam Gamgee to take his place. However, the departure and explanation were edited out by the DVD producers.