Whether you know him best as Mikey from The Goonies, Rudy from the biopic by the same name, Sam from The Lord of the Rings, or Bob from Stranger Things, Sean Astin is an actor who has probably taken on a heartwarming role in your life at some point. He also came from a famous family, but his background is complicated — so much so that he mistakenly believed Lucille Ball to be his grandmother.
Sean Astin grew up in a famous family
According to the biography posted on his website, “Sean is the son of Academy and multiple-Emmy Award Winning actor Anna ‘Patty Duke’ Pearce and acclaimed actor John Astin; his brother Mackenzie Astin enjoys a thriving motion picture and television career.”
Growing up in the shadow of someone as famous as Patty Duke may have been challenging enough on its own, but as ABC reports, Astin had the added challenge of dealing with his mother’s mental health struggles. As the oldest of two sons, Astin was often caught up in his mother’s rages.
The majority of Astin’s memories of his mother are positive. “This woman is a powerful, strong woman who wanted us to grow up independent and confident and strong … 99 percent of the time,” Astin explained.
Sometimes, however, “I could hear the sound of Mom sort of going through the hallways like, you know, the beast in Beauty and the Beast.” Duke was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and received treatment. Duke’s diagnosis came the same year that she separated from John Astin.
Just a few years later, when Sean Astin was 14, he was hit with yet another bombshell. John Astin was not his biological father.
Lucille Ball is not Sean Astin’s grandmother
Duke explained to Astin that, when she was 23, she “had a scandalous affair with Desi Arnaz Jr., who was only 17.” Famously, Lucille Ball — Arnaz’s mother — disliked the relationship (though she, ironically, had an age gap scandal in her own relationship). Those were all the components for a juicy tabloid story, and Duke wanted to escape from the glare of the spotlight.
That’s when she met Michael Tell, a man who offered to marry her to help take the story off the affair with Arnaz. Duke agreed, but the marriage didn’t even last two weeks. Tell was out of the picture by the time Astin was born.
John Astin raised Sean, and Sean considers the older actor to be his father. For quite a while, he thought Arnaz was his biological father, but he eventually found out through genetic testing that his biological father is Tell.
Astin remarked, “Desi Arnaz Jr. loves me, and I love him. We are so close. Science tells me … that he’s not my biological father. Science tells me that Mike Tell is.”
Astin can call any of his ‘four dads’ for advice
Rather than let the complicated family history cause ill will, Sean Astin has chosen to look on the bright side of having a wide-ranging web of support: “I can call any of them on the phone any time I want to. John, Desi, Mike or Papa Mike … my four dads.” That final dad refers to Mike Pearce, his stepdad.
It must be nice to have so many loving father figures in his life, and they’ll get the chance to cheer Astin on for even more professional accomplishments in the upcoming months. IMDB lists eleven upcoming projects for Astin, including a starring role in Holiday Twist (a rom-com expected in 2023) and a role in the thriller The Man in the White Van.
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