By 14, I had decided on three modest goals and repeated them often to everyone. I wanted to be a world-class filmmaker, CEO of a multi-billion-dollar entertainment company, and president of the United States. I've had to settle for journeyman actor.
Sean Astin
I remember Michael Jackson once called to see if I was feeling okay because I had gone home sick from the set of 'Goonies'; they'd shut down production for a couple days. I was so excited he called, but he didn't leave his number.
My dad was a Buddhist when I was young, so when I was begging to become a Catholic, he was saying no and imparting Buddhist precepts.
If you're not the guy who is going to puff your chest out like a rooster and go fight somebody, our society discards you.
My diet is always terrible, unfortunately. I don't know moderation.
My interactions with my family members are all one-to-one. We don't all get together for Thanksgiving dinner. But I can sit and tell any one of them about a conversation that I just had with the other one, and they're all curious and interested and respectful.
I actually think I've got a pretty good horror scream.
I'm just a softie at heart, a scaredy cat.
I don't want to use the word 'instinct,' but when something good happens - something big or good in my life - I have this sensation that it was inevitable. Anything careerwise, 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Rudy,' or getting married. Which is weird, because you don't ever want to be ungrateful for what you have.
I'm much more prone to feeling down a lot. I just feel sluggish and unmotivated.
The filmmakers who I'm pining to work for aren't ringing my phone off the hook.
My wife is very patient. On our honeymoon in 1992, we got a motor home and drove from L.A. to Idaho and then down the coast. I was running a lot, then so she would drop me off, drive six miles, park and wait for me.
I'm like the universe; either expanding or contracting at any given moment. The most that I had put on was about 35, 36 pounds, and I've taken all of that off.
I was about 14, and my friend's stepdad asked me to do a 10K with him because his son - who was more into basketball - didn't want to. It was amazing, and I still remember the time I got: 48:23.
I absolutely do not think that I have even a vague recollection of what normal life is like.
The sidekick business has been good to me.
'Lord of the Rings' was 2001, 2002, and 2003, but Twitter didn't start until 2007!
You can't play a hobbit if you're not prepared to be a part of nerd culture.
I used to love watching Angela Lansbury and other people when they were doing voice-overs for Disney shows. You'd see them doing these wild gestures in front of the microphone. I used to think, 'Is that really necessary?' What you realize when you're doing it is that that's the only way.
I told another ESPN friend here, I love all sports. I can't think of any I don't love. I've even come to appreciate cricket. Maybe I could play a sportswriter. I don't know. Anything in the sports realm is appealing.
Everyone on 'The Goonies' and everyone on 'Lord Of The Rings' knew that we were a part of something that was going to be big.
A perfect run has nothing to do with distance. It's when your stride feels comfortable.
A paparazzo once jumped out of a car and started running backward with me. I slowed down out of courtesy because she started drifting into the street. I reached out my hand and moved her back so she didn't get hit by a bus.
I'm not smart enough to play 'Dungeons & Dragons.' Maybe if someone were to take me by the hand and slowly and carefully walk me through.
I think that I have a seriousness of purpose, a lot of support, and a healthy amount of good fortune.
A doable goal for me is to finish a marathon under four hours. I'm doing all the training, but the hardest part is eating right.
I think people enjoy reading about money, but the people who are in charge of giving me guidance tell me not to talk about it in interviews. Why not? That's what everybody thinks about.
I'd never heard of the 'Lord of the Rings', actually. So I went to the bookstore and there it was, three shelves of books about Tolkien and Middle-earth, and I was like, 'Holy cow, what else am I missing out on?'
As soon as they sent me an email saying that 'Stranger Things' is having an audition and they'd like you to come in, I just thought, 'Oh boy, this might be fated.' I hadn't really watched the show, but I binged it and fell in love with it.
I don't want to play the fat guy or the friend for the rest of my life.
There was a combination of not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, but also really not wanting to be stuck in Lord of the Rings for the rest of my life, and being desperate to kind of make sure that I could do something else with my life.
I kind of peak at how far I can push my body, and then I run out of determination for the habit and start easing off. It's really just a lack of focus and discipline.
There is nothing as special as watching greatness.
I definitely loved going on stage, I loved the nervous feeling and the performance and the doing-ness of it. It always felt kind of natural and inevitable and logical.
The first stage I preformed on were the stairs to the hallway in the living room. There was a really nice platform, and when people were sitting in the living room, it was kind of an elevated platform and we would put on shows and skits.
The hybrid I have now is one of the least expensive cars I've ever had. I had a BMW 318i convertible once, the ultimate driving machine.
I think I've begun to take for granted how easily information can swirl around me.
I feel like I'm close to all the 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Goonies' people, but I'm kind of sequestered with my wife and kids. But as soon as there's some reason for all of us to be together, it's like no time has passed, lots of hugs.
When Trump goes after the media and calls it fake news, he should be impeached - and everyone should say this. But the media lives in fear.
I don't like scary movies.
I want to do more work behind the camera.
My mother wouldn't let me play football because she was afraid I would get hurt, so I played flag football.
I've worked with some of the greatest filmmakers in the history of the medium, and they all have something in common: a quality that is creative, comfortable, and thoughtful.
Even though my parents were famous actors, I honestly felt most of the time that I didn't understand what was going on.
I've got a body of work now, I've been doing movies for 32 years, and you never know which movie it is that somebody might reference to you, so you've got to be ready for everything.
I first heard about 'Stranger Things' from people dressed as the characters coming up to me at conventions saying, 'Hey, you have to see this show. It's 'Goonies.'
