Today, Variety reports that Sean Astin has been cast in a recurring role in Young Rock, a comedy based on the life of superstar Dwayne Johnson. The Lord of the Rings star is said to be playing the childhood nemesis of The Rock all grown up.
Young Rock is a comedy that tells the fictionalized story of Johnson, from his childhood in Hawaii to playing college football to dreaming of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a professional wrestler. The entire show is set in the framework of Johnson telling his life story as he is running for President of the United States. Season 2 of Young Rock picks up where the first left off, with stories inspired by real events in Johnson’s life. The new season will see Johnson as he and his family meet new challenges and legends in the professional wrestling world. It will also see him begin to contemplate starting his own wrestling career.
In the show’s upcoming second season, Astin will play Dr. Julian Echo in the show's flash-forwards, in the scenes where adult Dwayne is running for president. Astin’s character is described as a man who is still holding a grudge against Johnson from when they were kids. His and Johnson's paths reconnect when Dr. Echo accuses the future Dwayne Johnson of attempting to kill him, threatening to ruin his presidential campaign right before the election.
Astin is best known for his roles as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Mikey in The Goonies. The actor has also made several fan-favorite appearances in shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Big Bang Theory. He also had a supporting role in the second season of the Netflix hit Stranger Things and will be appearing in the upcoming second season of the HBO Crime-Drama Perry Mason.
In Young Rock, Astin will be joining the cast of Johnson, Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui, and Matthew Willig. The show was created by Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang, and is executive produced by Khan, Chiang, Johnson, Dany Garcia, Jennifer Carreras, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz, and Jeffrey Walker.
Season 2 of Young Rock premieres on NBC on March 15 at 8 p.m.