Mackenzie Alexander Astin, born on May 12, 1973, comes from an acting family based in California.His mother, Patty Duke, is an actress and his father is just as big a star in the film industry. One of the fun facts about this artist is that both of his parents have been his co-stars at some point.Mackenzie Astin started his acting career at the age of nine after he started noticing how his parents and brother were enjoying their acting careers. Talented for his age, Astin quickly gained recognition and was cast in multiple TV shows and movies. However, there were two turning points in his life. The first turning point came with his casting in ‘The Facts of Life’, which was one of the longest-running sitcoms of the ’80s. The second turning point was the release of Garbage Pail Kids, which was arguably one of the worst projects that he has ever worked on. Like every actor and actress, Astin’s journey in his career has been thrilling and we are trying to follow his trajectory through these facts!If you enjoyed reading this article, why not also check out Julie Anne Haddock Facts of Life and Julie Piekarski Facts of Life here at Kidadl!Career Changes After Facts Of LifeMackenzie Astin is one of the many stars who appeared in the show ‘The Facts of Life’. His award-winning acting as Andy Moffett has stuck with the audience throughout the years and for good reason.Like many actors who appeared in the show, he also struggled a little to find his foothold in the film industry after ‘The Facts of Life’ aired its last episode in 1988. His was one of the recurring roles that were added to the show in the sixth season and by the start of the next few seasons, Andy Moffett had become a regular character. It was fortunate for Astin that he was not in the show right from the first season of ‘The Facts of Life’ because many characters were written off in the second season and his might have just been one of them.In 1985, Mackenzie Astin was making many appearances on television. It was this year that he worked with his own mother, Patty Duke, in a show called ‘Hail To The Chief’. He also acted in shows such as ‘I Dream of Jeannie…’, ‘Fifteen Years Later’ and ‘Hotel’. This was unmissably one of the busiest years of Astin’s life.Mackenzie Astin, after putting his character Andy Moffett behind with one of NBC’s longest-running shows, started to explore his options. This American actor worked in a movie called ‘Garbage Pail Kids’, which was arguably deemed as one of the worst movies of the time. The actor was so distressed after how badly the movie did that he actually had to take some time off and understand what kind of projects he would want to do next. ‘Garbage Pail Kids’ came out in 1987 and was his debut on the silver screen. Hence, the fact that it did so poorly was ever so troublesome for the young actor to cope with.Life for Mackenzie Astin had changed after ‘Garbage Pail Kids’, the actor had to take some time off and finish his education, while also wanting to reconsider the path which he would like his acting career to take.He acted alongside Kevin Costner in ‘Wyatt Earp’ and won acclaim for it. His role in ‘The Evening Star’ was quite beneficial for his career but not so much for his own life. During the filming of his movie, he was in a major car accident, which cost him the top portion of one of his ears. If you fail to notice any such thing in the movie, it was because the directors of the movie decided to fix him with a prosthetic top-ear lobe.Meanwhile, Mackenzie Astin was also playing roles on the small screen and making guest appearances on many shows. Towards the end of the 20th century, he was constantly an actor that kept appearing as various characters on TV and was also acting in movies such as ‘The Last Days of Disco’ and ‘The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human’ in the years 1998 and 1999 respectively. None of these acting jobs taken up by the American actor were widely proclaimed but were enough motivation for producers and directors to cast him in future projects.The first few years of the 21st century were undoubtedly what made this actor a big name in the industry. He worked in some of the most famous shows on TV and proved to be a great addition to any cast. In 2003, he worked in a movie named ‘How To Deal’, then gearing up for 2005, which would put him on the radar like nobody’s business. The many TV shows that the actor appeared in beginning from 2005 would include ‘Psych’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Prime Suspect’, ‘House’, ‘Lost’, ‘NCIS’, ‘Criminal Minds’, ‘Bones’, and ‘Justice’. ‘Lost’, which came out in 2005, and ‘House’, which came out in 2006, were the TV shows that set up the stage for Mackenzie Astin to become world-renowned.Craftmanship After Facts Of LifeIt is believed that Mackenzie Astin’s career took a good turn after his guest appearances and the regular role at ‘The Facts of Life’ came to an end. This is because his career as a TV actor could have ended after the disastrous ‘Garbage Pail Kids’ but he decided to make sure that he starred in the next few shows and films only when he was truly ready to take up any such roles. Being the son of two established actors could have been one of the reasons why the actor felt the need to stop appearing in shows before he had figured out the route that he wanted his career to take.He started his career at a very young age with a TV movie named ‘Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal’. This was definitely not the best role that the actor played in his extensive career but was surely great when we consider his age. Born and brought up in California, Mackenzie Astin had access to the TV and film industry, and hence, starting his acting career was easy. Before working with NBC, he also starred as Jeremy Warren in an ABC show named ‘Fine of Lost Loves’. After his role in ‘The Facts of Life’, he appeared in many shows and movies, and although none of them were a major success, it still paved the way for him to be able to become world-renowned later through shows such as ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Scandal’. These TV shows were well written and Astin’s own acting consolidated his place in the industry. He also had the fortune of acting alongside his own father, John Astin.In ‘Scandal’, he played the recurring role of Noah Baker, for which, he became very popular. He started appearing in the show from its third season. In ‘Homeland’, he starred as Bill Dunn, which was a genre of acting for the actor to set foot into. In ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, he appeared in two episodes as Danny Wilson. The episodes were ‘She’s Gone’ and ‘Free Falling’. He also starred in an NBC TV movie named ‘A Child Lost Forever: The Jerry Sherwood Movie’. If you do happen to watch a film before Mackenzie Astin became a star, it is likely that you will notice the maturity that his acting achieved after he stopped appearing in the many seasons of ‘The Facts of Life’. Hence, while stars do need a big break such as this show, that acting career should hardly be defined by it.Life Journey Before And After Facts Of LifeMackenzie Astin’s parents, Patty Duke and John Astin are immensely famous names. At a very early age, Astin saw how his parents and half-brother were already a part of the industry and hence wanted to become a part of it.It was at the age of nine that he made his first appearance on TV in a movie named ‘Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal’. This movie was, however, not his big break. He worked in several other movies and TV shows before being cast to be a part of the sixth season of The Facts of Life. The success of his character in the sixth season spoke for itself and he was chosen to become a regular actor. It was therefore very fortunate that Mackenzie Astin chose to take after his parents and brother and gave the world an amazing actor.Not much is known about the actor’s personal life. He was born in California and is still based there. He married Jennifer Abbott in 2011 and has been married ever since.Did You Know…Cliff (Blaire’s boyfriend) is played by American actor Woody Brown.In the last episode of ‘The Facts of Life’, the girls end up going their separate ways: Blair is at Eastland, Tootie is off to acting school in London, Natalie has shifted to Soho to pursue her writing career, and Jo’s husband Rick returns from his European tour to begin their married lives.Mackenzie Astin was 12 years old when he starred in ‘The Facts of Life’.
Mackenzie Alexander Astin, born on May 12, 1973, comes from an acting family based in California.
