5-Minute Time Out: Sean Astin
That kid from The Goonies is now a dad... and a secret-agent panda.
by Jennifer V. Hughes
April 3, 2009
Sean Astin won our hearts as a child actor in The Goonies, then received worldwide acclaim for his portrayal of Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of The Rings movies — but now he's got a new mission.
Astin provides the voice for Secret Agent Oso — an adorably bumbling stuffed panda bear who stars in the new, eponymously-titled Playhouse Disney show, premiering on April 4th. The show delightfully swipes from the James Bond genre (with titles like "Never Say No Brushing Again," and "The Girl With the Golden Book.") Oso goes on secret missions, not to battle the Soviets, but to help Danny brush his teeth or Samantha fix a ripped page in a bedtime story.
Oso works for U.N.I.Q.U.E (United Network for Investigating Quite Usual Events) and may be out on an adventure, say, climbing a mountain, when all of a sudden he'll find out a little girl lost her letter to her grandma and needs help mailing it ("To Grandma With Love.") His Paw Pilot (ba-DUM-pah!) lets him know he's got to do "Three Special Steps," to complete his mission. (There's an earwig of a theme song that goes along with those "Three Special Steps" that makes Dora's "Backpack" song sound like Vivaldi, but anyway . . .)
Astin gamely talked to Babble about his bear-like attributes, what he would have needed a secret agent panda to teach him when he was a kid, and what Oso has in common with the big-screen 007. Or not. — Jennifer Hughes
I think it's kind of cool that some of your more well-known roles center around kids — kids of all different ages —from Goonies to LOTR to Oso. What is it about entertaining young people that you find so interesting?
For the last twelve years it's been that I have kids of my own. As a person and a performer, you have to do what seems fun and challenging or meaningful. And the work you can get. [Laughs.] I think when I was a little kid and I went to the Director's Guild with my dad (actor and director John Astin) and we watched ET, something changed in my life. It was one of the most powerful life experiences. I felt like I was totally overwhelmed by the story but because it was at the Director's Guild I also was aware of the work that went into it. That little combination continues to live with me until now.
"I think they tried to cast someone who looks like the panda."
So how exactly do you get into character as a stuffed panda bear? Is this method acting?
[Laughs, then seriously:] I have a secret life away from being an actor — I've been a spy and the master of the black arts. [Laughs.] No, there is this one line that Oso has over and over, "It's all part of the plan!" When we're recording and my voice starts to get too low I just say that line and it puts me back into finding Oso. I guess I'm an adventurer at heart and so is Oso. I also have this picture of him on the stand when I'm recording, so I look at him and try to meld our spirits together.
I kind of see a resemblance between you and Oso — did they try to make the panda look like you?
Well, uh, no. I think they designed him and tried to cast someone who looks like him. When the Disney Channel sent a poster to my house, my three-year-old said "Daddy! It's you!" Does she think it's me because I'm playing the character she sees or is she saying there is no delineation between me and Oso?
I probably should not tell this story, but there is this photo I did when I was seventeen. I was tan, my hair was slicked back, I was showing my abs and the whole thing. I showed it to one of my kids and I think it was my six-year-old who said, "Who's that?" And I said, "That's Daddy." And she said, "No, my Daddy's tummy is round and furry." So maybe my wife told that to the people at Disney.
©2009 Jennifer V. Hughes and Babble
About the Author
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Jennifer V. Hughes is a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Mothering magazine and the Columbia Law School Report. She also makes a killer sangria. |
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