Sean Astin

What’s your favorite Sean Astin movie? I don’t think mine is a super popular one, but that has never been an issue for me. I absolutely loved him in Rudy. What a great story. I still get the chills at the end when they start chanting his name. “Ru-dy! Ru-dy!” So awesome.

Born on February 25, 1971 in Santa Monica, California, Sean Patrick Astin is a great actor. I’ve seen him in a number of different roles and he seems to always knock it out of the park. I love Will Ferrell, but it seems like he’s always playing the same character. Know what I mean? He’s playing different characters but they all come out as funny Will Ferrell because he’s not that great of an actor. (I still love him.) Sean Astin can handle many different roles.

Who’s Your Daddy

Finding out who the father of Sean Astin was became almost a soap opera. His mom was actress Patty Duke but she was unsure of Sean’s father. She had been in a relationship with Desi Arnaz, Jr. but also “hanging” out with music promoter Michael Tell. Tell offered to marry her when she got pregnant so that she wouldn’t have to go through a scandal. How sweet of him! Their marriage in 1970 lasted 13 days. A few years later in 1972, Patty Duke married John Astin, who adopted Sean. Sean’s half brother Mackenzie (The Facts of Life) was born the following year.

Sean grew up thinking that John Astin was his dad which makes sense. He was only a year old when mom married John. When Sean was 14, mom told him that Desi Arnaz, Jr. was his dad. Sean and new dad Desi then developed a relationship. In 1990, Sean met a relative of Michael Tell who said they were related. Sean decided to do his own testing and maybe not trust mom’s word. It turns out the real daddy of Sean is Michael Tell. I’m sure Michael Tell is a wonderful person and all, but how cool would it be to have Desi Arnaz, Jr. as your dad? The best part would be that Lucille Ball would be your grandma.

FYI, mom Patty Duke remarried again after her marriage to John Astin ended. Sean says he has four dads and is close to all of them. That’s pretty cool. He has bio dad Mike, almost bio dad Desi, dad who raised him John, and step-dad Mike. I think it says a lot about Sean that he can be close to all four dads.

Sean Astin’s first movie was the awesome Goonies in 1985. I loved that movie, mainly because it had the wonderful Oakland Raiders #72 John Matuszak in it. Read my Goonies blog here.

I know one of Sean’s big things is The Lord of the Rings, but I never got into that. I thought Sean was great as a nerdy dude in The Big Bang Theory and as Bob in Stranger Things.

As a former runner, I totally respect that Sean has completed some pretty serious races. In 2015, he completed the Dopey Challenge which is a TON of running (and medals). That running event is a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon in four consecutive days. Later that year, he competed in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Little Rudy has completed an Ironman! That is so cool.

I’ve been watching Sean Astin in movies for the last 35 years. From Goonies to Rudy to 50 First Dates to Click to Stranger Things…….I’ve enjoyed them all. Keep doing you, Sean Astin.

Check out my Sean pinups and posters in my eBay store.