Sean Astin

Keynote Speaker

Sean Astin is an acclaimed American film and television actor. Astin is best known for his classic and beloved characters – the ever faithful Samwise Sam Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and American working class hero, Rudy. Astin made his feature film debut in the wildly popular 80’s classic The Goonies as the leader of an unlikely band of adolescent treasure hunters. In 2004, Astin flexed his comedy muscles as the steroid challenged Doug Whitmore in the Sony Pictures hit comedy 50 First Dates.
He went on to become a fan favorite portraying Bob Newby, in Season 2 of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things. Currently, Astin plays Tyler, Becky’s boyfriend on ABC’s The Conners, as the venerable series comes to a close after 17 years.

The Academy Award nominee and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actor will make his Broadway debut this holiday season as Santa, in Elf The Musical.

Sean Astin is the son of luminary performers, Patty Duke and John Astin and the brother of seasoned actor Mackenzie Astin.

For over four decades, Astin has thrived in the world of independent cinema with meaningful performances in richly diverse films: Staying Together (1989), Where The Day Takes (1992), The Low Life (1995), Bigger Than The Sky (2005), Smile (2005), Forever Strong (2008), Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea (2012), The Surface (2014), Mom’s Night Out (2014), Woodlawn (2015), The Lears (2017), Gloria Bell (2018) with Julianne Moore, Charming The Hearts of Men (2021) opposite Kelsey Grammer, Hard Miles (2023), iMordecai (2023) opposite Judd Hirsch and Carol Kane, and The Shift (2024)

Astin is well known to television audiences, having performed in long form programs such as; the title character in the adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron and in the adaptation of Terry Pratchet’s legendary book, The Color of Magic. Astin has appeared as a series regular, notably in Guillermo Del Toro’s The Strain (FX), and the Best Drama Award-winning fifth season of 24 (Fox), as well as J. Michael Straczynski’s Jeremiah (Showtime). He has guest starred on many familiar dramatic programs including Monk, Law and Order, The Librarians, Supergirl and The Alphas.

Astin has enjoyed working on many television comedies; he played lead character Ed Thompson for 20 episodes of Netflix’s throwback situation comedy No Good Nick. He has also guest starred on many shows, including The Big Bang Theory, Brooklyn 99 and Franklin & Bash.

The veteran actor recently narrated Dreamworks’ original series Captain Underpants and has voiced many animated characters in films and television including Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nickelodeon), Bunnicula (WB), Justice League (WB), Special Agent Oso (Disney), Micronauts (Paramount) and Minecraft: Story Mode (Telltale).

Astin directed and produced the short film Kangaroo Court, which earned him an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. Astin also directed and produced the live action short film The Long and Short of It, an official entry in the Sundance Film Festival. Astin has journeyed into episodic television, directing episodes of Angel (WB) and Jeremiah (Showtime). In 2019 Astin reprised his iconic role of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger as Colonel Sanders in KFC's 'Rudy II' commercial ads

Astin is an avid long-distance runner and triathlete. He completed the IRONMAN World Championship Triathlon in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on October 10, 2015. He has also completed 12 Full Marathons including the 2016 New York City Marathon in honor of his late mother, Patty Duke for her life's work as an advocate for mental health.