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"It is important to make the fans that support me feel supported." Mackenzie Alexander Astin is an American Actor from Los Angeles, California. He originally made his debut in the acting world at the age of nine, but he has since developed himself into an enduring face in the entertainment landscape. Astin is a half-brother to Sean Astin, star of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as Sam Gamgee.

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Despite being the 'less famous' brother, McKenzie Astin has had a career that has sprawled across nearly four decades. Throughout his time as an actor, Astin has appeared in over one hundred different projects, with several high-profile starring television roles along the way. Let's take a closer look at Astin's career in order to get a feel for what he has been up to!

Born in L.A.

Mackenzie Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California. He was born to John Astin and Patty Duke, two famous performers in their own right. Patty was a prominent actress during her heyday while John Astin did plenty of work for himself. His half-brother is Sean Astin, the famous actor who has appeared in projects like Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things, and Rudy. 

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Astin would attend Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School as a child before going on to attend University High School in Los Angeles. Throughout his childhood, Astin had to balance his acting career with his schoolwork. As a result, Astin has been busy working almost his entire life. He made his televised debut in the made-for-TV movie, Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal (1982) at the tender age of nine. Following that performance, Astin would take several years off before fully immersing himself into the world of acting.

Television Superstar

Following a short hiatus toward the beginning of his career, Astin would become a television regular on The Facts of Life (1985) as Andy Moffett. Astin would appear as Andy Moffett in 72 episodes that spanned from 1985 to 1988. This role would help to launch Astin's impressive television career while also endearing himself to his fans. The Facts of Life was one of the biggest television shows of the era and his regular inclusion during the height of its fame was a notable achievement for a child star.

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Following The Facts of Life, was able to put together a resume that included several major projects. Though Astin continued to work as a child, he wouldn't reach a similar level of fame until his later years. In 2000, Astin appeared in the Will Ferrel film, Stranger Than Fiction as Jared Roth. This film would be one of the few silver screen projects that Astin was able to star in, to great commercial success. After that film, Astin would shift his focus back to television. In the next several years, Astin would appear on television shows like Lost (2005) as Dr. Tom Brennan, House M.D. (2006) as Rob Miller, and My Name is Early (2007) as Brandon.

Astin continued to make major headway as a television actor, but he wouldn't really come into his own as an adult performer until 2014's Scandal. In the series, Astin starred as Noah Baker for eleven episodes. The series follows a former White House Comms Director who goes on to start her own crisis management firm. The series became a hit and it survived for seven seasons, earning a Golden Globe nomination along the way. After Scandal,  Astin would appear on How to Get Away with Murder as the same character, Noah Baker.

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In 2016, Astin was cast as Richard in the hit series, The Magicians (2016). Astin would play the role for two years, spanning fifteen episodes. From there, Astin would score a supporting role in Homeland (2018), another highly decorated television show. Most recently, Astin has been attached to several high-profile projects including The Orville (2019), Proven Innocent (2019), and The Loudest Voice (2019). Astin also has several projects in development, though no release dates have been set in stone. Those projects are The Man from Wailing River and The Chickasaw Rancher. The latter series also stars Dermot Mulroney, Tommy Flanagan, Martin Sensmeir, and Grace Monte.

While Astin has appeared in a number of projects throughout his career, nothing is quite as interesting as what has happened in his personal life. Astin would experience a tragic car accident while filming The Evening Star. Fortunately, Astin was not badly injured, but he did lose the tip of his right ear. Astin would end up fitted for a prosthetic so that he could return to acting. Outside of acting, Astin also worked with his father as a Director of the Program in Theatre Arts at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.