Goonies actor joins Stranger Things’ second season

Sean Astin, most notable for his role as Sam Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has joined Netflix’s 80s-inspired horror series, Stranger Things.

Astin, who also starred in the classic ‘80s action film Goonies, will play Bob Newby, a kindhearted nerd who went to school with Joyce (Winona Ryder). Since high school, Newby has become the manager of a local Radio Shack and it’s unclear as to how his character fits into the town of Hawkins. Stranger Things creators Ross and Matt Duffer have previously said, however, that the first season will tie in pretty closely to the second.

The casting makes perfect sense for the show. Astin built his career in the ‘80s, ‘90s and early aughts working on some of the most memorable films, both within and outside of the genre. His aesthetic was described as a great fit for the show, according to Variety.

Variety also reports that Astin will be joined by Paul Reiser and Linnea Berthelsen. Reiser is a series regular on the streaming comedy Red Oaks and has appeared in critically-acclaimed films like Whiplash. Berthelsen is a young actor who hasn’t worked on many projects. She’ll join the other kids from the series, including Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair).

Stranger Things will return for its second season in 2017. The first season is currently available to stream on Netflix.