| Dominic Monaghan |
He is a garener:that's the first thing to remember about him.'Sean Astin is talking about Sam Gamgee, his character in The Lord of the Ring Trilogy.'As I read the book, I was looking for keys to unlock Sam's personality. He is a gardener and he's loyal and honest, and sometimes he gets scared. These are very basic things about Sam that I have tried to I embody in playing him.'
Astin's parents are the actor and director, John Astin, and actress, Patty Duke with whom he made his television debut in 1981.Inevitably, as a young actor, he has also 'layed' a number of sons including Michael Douglas and Kathleen Tuener's boy in Danny De Vito's The war of the Roses and Ixxy, Sam Shepard and Susan Sarandon's son in Safe Passage.
In a succession of movies since Astin's first film role as Mikey in Richard Donner's teen adventure, The Goonies, Astin has demonstrated considerble dramatic talent in a filmography that ranges from zany comedies (Dudley Moore's like father,like son)to edged dramas such as Where the day takes you. His more then thirty feature film apperance include, Staying Together,Encino Man,Memphis Belle,Coura
ge Under Fire, Bulworth and the title-role rudy. He received the best actor award for low life at the fort lauderdale film festival.
In addition to acting, Astin has embarked on a parallel career as a director with two short films: On My Honor about an American and a Vietnamese solder, and Kangaroo Court, an inner city drama staring Gregory Hines and Michael O'keefe which received considerable critical acclaim and an Academy award nominatin.
The Lord of the Ring Trilogy offered Astin the opportunity to take on a role that was unlike any he had played previously:'You have got these characterswho are facing larger then life obstacles; innocent, little, big footed people who are in way over their heads. Except that I don't think the hobbits see themselves sa being "little" until they are standing next to somthing that's daunting and intimidating. So i've tried to approach the character as being as real and human as possible.
Sam being his journey as Frodo's manservant. He comes from a lower class and is not so well educated as his master. However, as the adventure unfolds, their relationship deepens into one of love and mutual dependence:'To me there is nothing so admirable as a passionate love-bond between two human beings. Sam loves Frodo and wants to protect himand Frodo is extremely protective of Sam. So what you have are these two people locked into this journey together. They don't need to explain what they are to each other; they don't need to talk about it; they just are.'
Summing up his approch to the role of Sam Sean Astin says: 'I just wanted to allow whayever essence of goodness there is within me to come forth ang to inhabit the role of Sam, because that's what he is: he's goodness,loyalty,decency; that, I think, is his function in the book.' |
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