Editing Sean Astin (section)

=== Early career ===
[[File:Sean Astin by John Mathew Smith.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Astin in 1997]]
Astin's first acting role was in a 1981 television film titled ''Please Don't Hit Me, Mom'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://screenrant.com/child-stars-still-look-exactly-same-today/ |title=16 Child Stars Who Still Look Exactly The Same Today |date=February 5, 2018 |access-date=September 8, 2021 |website=[[Screen Rant]] |first=Turner |last=Minton |quote=beginning his career opposite her in the after-school special ''Please Don't Hit Me Mom'' }}</ref> in which he played an eight-year-old child with an abusive mother (portrayed by his real-life mother [[Patty Duke]]). Astin made his film debut at age 13 as Mikey Walsh in ''[[The Goonies]]'' (1985).

After ''The Goonies'', Astin appeared in several more films, including the [[Disney]] television film ''The B.R.A.T. Patrol'', opposite [[Nia Long]], [[Tim Thomerson]], and [[Brian Keith]]; ''[[Like Father Like Son (1987 film)|Like Father Like Son]]'' (1987); ''[[White Water Summer]]'' with [[Kevin Bacon]] (1987), ''[[The War of the Roses (film)|The War of the Roses]]'' (1989); the [[World War II]] film ''[[Memphis Belle (film)|Memphis Belle]]'' (1990); ''[[Toy Soldiers (1991 film)|Toy Soldiers]]'' (1991); ''[[Encino Man]]'' (1992); and the college football biopic ''[[Rudy (film)|Rudy]]'' (1993), about the life-changing struggles and rewards of the titular character, [[Daniel Ruettiger]].

In 1994, Astin directed and co-produced (with his wife, Christine Astin) the short film ''Kangaroo Court'', which received an Academy Award nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film|Best Live Action Short Film]]. Astin continued to appear in films throughout the 1990s, including the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] science fiction film ''[[Harrison Bergeron (film)|Harrison Bergeron]]'' (1995), the Gulf War film ''[[Courage Under Fire]]'' (1996), and the [[Warren Beatty]] political satire ''[[Bulworth]]'' (1998).