Editing Sean Astin (section)

=== ''The Lord of the Rings'' ===
In the early 2000s, Astin played [[Samwise Gamgee]] in [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy]], consisting of [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|''The Fellowship of the Ring'']] (2001), [[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers|''The Two Towers'']] (2002), and [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|''The Return of the King'']] (2003). Many awards were bestowed upon the trilogy, particularly its final installment, which earned eleven [[Academy Awards]], including Best Picture. Astin received seven award nominations for his own performance, and won five, including the [[Saturn Award]], the Sierra Award, the Seattle Film Critics Award, and the Utah Film Critics Award (all for Best Supporting Actor), and the [[Visual Effects Society#VES Awards|Visual Effects Society Award]] for Outstanding Performance by a Male or Female in an Effects Film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vesglobal.org/previous-awards/2003-2nd-annual-ves-awards/ |title=2nd Annual VES Awards |access-date=November 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241123210820/https://www.vesglobal.org/previous-awards/2003-2nd-annual-ves-awards/ |archive-date=November 23, 2024 |url-status=live |website=VES|date=February 19, 2019 }}</ref> ''The Return of the King'' cast as an [[Ensemble cast|ensemble]] received awards from the [[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]], the [[Screen Actors Guild]], the [[Broadcast Film Critics Association]], and received a Gold Derby Award.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-04 |title=The 76th Academy Awards {{!}} 2004 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2004 |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref> Throughout the filming process, Astin became close friends with several cast members, particularly [[Elijah Wood]]. Astin's daughter, Alexandra, is in the closing scene of ''The Return of the King'', playing his onscreen daughter, Elanor.

While working on ''The Lord of the Rings'', Astin persuaded a number of fellow cast and crew members, including director [[Peter Jackson]], to assist him in making his second short film, ''The Long and Short of It''. The film, which takes place on a street in [[Wellington]], New Zealand, premiered at the 2003 [[Sundance Film Festival]] and can be found on the DVD for [[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers|''The Two Towers'']], along with a "making of" video.

In 2004, Astin released ''There and Back Again'' ({{ISBN|0-312-33146-0}}), a memoir (co-written with Joe Layden) of his film career with emphasis on his experiences during production of [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy]]. The title is derived from the title of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s novel ''[[The Hobbit]]'', as well as the fictional book written by [[Bilbo Baggins]] in ''The Lord of the Rings''.