Sam

Rating: Null/10 (20 December 2002)

Apologies if this has already been posted, as I have yet to make my way through the nearly 400 comments, but of the 100 or so I have read, I haven't seen any real mention of this yet....
I am so thrilled with Sean Astin's performance as Sam. Sam was always one of my favorite characters, and Sean Astin has captured his essence totally, and his performance is flawless.
*SPOILER WARNING* Toward the end, when Sam sort of chuckles at the thought of being considered brave, my heart melted. Sean Astin's very performance seems to be drawn from the same well. It is so subtle and generous...he *is* Sam.
It is only when it occurred to me how I hadn't really stopped to consider his performance (when I had spent so long thinking about the others) that I realized how remarkable it really is.
It would have been so easy for an actor to come across as a pandering sycophant, without infusing the character of Sam with the heart and the visceral, black-and-white good-or-evil morality that defines the character. Sean Astin captured all of this is such a simple and understated way (how appropriate for the character!) that I felt compelled to compliment him.