Movies Sean Astin was reluctant to do a lisp for 50 First Dates: 'I started to have fun with it' The actor reunites with his onscreen sister Drew Barrymore on her eponymous talk show. By Jessica Wang Jessica Wang Jessica is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where she covers TV, movies, and pop culture. Her work has appeared in Bustle, NYLON, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, and more. She lives in California with her dog. EW's editorial guidelines Published on November 25, 2024 02:16PM EST Comments Sean Astin took a trip down memory lane with 50 First Dates costar Drew Barrymore on the latest episode of her eponymous talk show. Astin, who starred as Barrymore's brother in the 2004 rom-com about a playboy bachelor who falls in love with an amnesic woman, appeared on Monday's episode to reminisce about the film. His character Doug Whitmore, a protein shake-obsessed bodybuilder, has a distinct lisp — a characteristic that Astin reveals he was not initially sold on. Ke Huy Quan reflects on reuniting with Goonies costars on Love Hurts set: 'I felt like I was a kid again' "Peter wanted me to do a lisp," recalled Astin, referencing director Peter Segal. "And I'm like, ‘Yeah, I don't think a lisp is right.’ It just feels a little cheesy. And I did. I recorded myself in front of our little house doing it and started to have fun with it, I did it with the lisp and it was much better." His favorite line? "Dad, Mongoose got in the trap again." Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Quipped Astin, "My whole career is about me not wanting to do stuff and people tell me, 'You gotta do this,' and then I do it and I'm like, 'Oh, that's good.'" The film stars Barrymore as Lucy, an art teacher who has short-term memory loss from an accident. She meets bachelor Henry (Adam Sandler), a veterinarian with commitment issues who falls in love with her and woos her every day — much to the concern of Lucy's protective father Merlin (Blake Clark) and brother Doug. Astin also spoke about stepping into the role on the heels of appearing in The Lord of the Rings, in which he played Samwise Gamgee. He recalled having to put on some weight for the role after he already shed some pounds. Sean Astin stops by 'The Drew Barrymore Show'. Tyler Golden/The Drew Barrymore Show Elijah Wood and Sean Astin have a hobbity reunion at the SAG Awards "I had to gain like a million pounds to be in Lord of the Rings because I played a stupid fat hobbit," recalled Astin. "That's a line from the show. I didn't like that line, but that was a line from the show. I lost like 30 pounds and was skinny and having so much fun. And then Adam said, ‘We'd love you to do this. Can you put on 30 pounds?’ I was like, 'Oh my God, of course.' They paid for a trainer and we were in the gym and lifting weights." Astin also said that he initially didn't intend to audition for the role of Doug, but his wife pushed him to do so. "I was working on this series," he said. "I was tired and I had to go back up to direct and my wife was like, ‘Do that audition,'" he recalled. "She doesn't generally say stuff like that to me, and when your wife says something to you, you gotta listen to it. I was like, ‘I'm tired. I don't wanna. I read the script. It's a great script, but I don't know what I'm doing in it.' And she goes ‘Do the audition.’" For more from Astin, tune into Monday's episode of Barrymore's show.