Sean Astin

Born: 25th February 1971
Where: Santa Monica, California

The veteran child star captured the public's imagination as Sam, Frodo's loyal friend, in Peter Jackson's monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The son of Academy Award-winning actress Patty Duke and actor/director John Astin, he made his TV debut aged nine opposite his mother in Please Don't Hit Me Mom.

He made his feature debut as Michael "Mikey" Walsh in 1985's The Goonies and starred in the comedy drama Staying Together.

Astin has his first high profile role in the Danny De Vito's box office hit War of the Roses with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

He followed this with the World War Two drama Memphis Belle and the ludicrous college action drama Toy Soldiers in 1991.

Subsequent roles included Rudy with Jon Favreau, Sage Passage with Susan Sarandon and the war drama Courage Under Fire with Denzel Washington.

He landed a role in Warren Beatty's hit Bulworth and the thriller Deterrence before getting the call from Peter Jackson for LOTR.

Astin has also worked behind the camera - he directed and co-produced the short film Kangaroo Court which was nominated in the Best Short Film category at the 67th Annual Academy Awards in 1995.

After the final part of the trilogy - Return of the King - upcoming projects included Elvis Has Left The Building and Slipstream.