The Bennett D. Melin Family University Speakers Series officially launched Thursday night, welcoming film and television actor Sean Astin to the St. Cloud State University campus.
Roughly 900 people attended the event in SCSU’s Ritsche Auditorium, which was emceed by SCSU Advancement & Alumni Engagement Vice President Heather Pieper-Olson.
The speaker series was made possible by alumnus Bennett Melin ’63, and was established to bring leaders from the arts, humanities, sciences, business, religion, politics, health and human services, education and other relevant areas to the University to engage students, faculty, staff and the entire #OurSCSU community in thoughtful conversation and reflection.
“(Bennett’s) goal was to bring the world to St. Cloud. We’re confident it will do all that and more for our community,” Pieper-Olson said. “We’re excited to launch this series and connect our campus community with the greater St. Cloud region.”
Astin is known for his portrayal of several classic and beloved characters from movies like “Rudy,” “The Goonies” and the “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, as well as Netflix series “Stranger Things” and numerous other titles. He is the current president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union as well. The son of performer and mental health advocate Patty Duke, Astin has followed in his late mother’s footsteps by advocating for mental health awareness and support. His Sept. 24 speaker series appearance focused on that subject.
Astin and Pieper-Olson covered an array of topics related to mental health throughout the evening, including how Astin’s own mental health was impacted by certain roles he’s had over the years and the physical and mental preparations he had to undergo to prepare. An on-set injury knocked Astin unconscious and sent him to the hospital at one point.
“That started a journey of mental instability, and people who work in mental health talk about head injuries, and for a good reason,” he said. “For years I don’t think I was really okay. There were ups and downs.”
Astin also discussed how his mother’s own mental health journey impacted his life. Duke was diagnosed with what is now referred to as bipolar disorder, which made for a sometimes turbulent environment when Astin was growing up.
Still, Astin said the experiences bonded him and his mother, and he admires how transparent and open Duke was about her mental health — especially at a time when the subject was far more taboo than it is in contemporary society. He recalled a time when Barbara Walters was planning to do an exposé on Duke, and Astin was asked by his mother if he’d be willing to be interviewed.
“She was a subject of great fascination and interest for people. She was 4 feet, 11 inches tall, and carried more dynamite and power in her gaze than anyone. She was terrifying — love you, Mom! They asked me if I’d be interviewed for the piece, and I was like, ‘Okay, but if they ask me a question, I’m going to answer it,'” he said. “I remember my mom, who was asking me to do this, was like, ‘Is this where the judgement, the verdict comes down for a lifetime of instability?’ And the answer is no. I love my mother. She was a wonderful mother; I had a great childhood. It was also awful, but we survived it.”
The segment led to others starting to reach out to Astin to discuss mental health. He now travels all over the world having open, honest discussions about the subject, and has met with everyone from judges and district attorneys, dentists, college campuses, a pipefitters union and everything in between.
He noted that in some ways he feels he’s living a different version of his mother’s life — with both being successful actors, presidents of their respective acting unions and mental health advocates in their later years.
“It’s just amazing how much I feel like I’m living my mom’s life, and I’m proud of it,” he said. “I’m able to learn from it, but I also have this overwhelming sense of humility.”
Pieper-Olson and Astin ended the evening with audience-submitted questions before Astin capped it off by reciting his famous speech as Samwise Gamgee from “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” When one attendee told Astin that the “The Lord of the Rings” movies saved their life during one of their lowest points, the actor said he couldn’t take the credit.
“I feel like a work of art — and I really do think ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a work of art — it’s reflecting back a part of yourself to you,” he said. “What you connected with in the movie, is something that’s alive deep in yourself. Keep going.”
