Sean Astin Joins Matthew Modine In Cycling Drama ‘Hard Miles’

Matt Grobar
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee Sean Astin has signed on to star alongside fellow Stranger Things alum Matthew Modine in the cycling drama Hard Miles, which 2021 Academy Nicholl Fellow R.J. Daniel Hanna is directing from his and Christian Sander’s script.

Additional cast set for the indie includes Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey), Leslie David Baker (The Office), Jahking Guillory (On My Block), Jackson Kelly (Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion), Damien Diaz (Marvel’s Runaways) and Zachary T. Robbins (Bloodline).

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The film is based on the true story of the cycling team at Colorado’s Ridge View Academy, which for decades has given at-risk youth a second chance through academic rigor, targeted treatment, competitive sports and leadership. Modine stars as Greg Townsend, who has led the team at Ridge View for the last 30 years, as previously announced. Astin will play benevolent local bike shop mechanic Speedy, with McWilliams as the commanding-but-empathetic Ridgeview youth counselor Haddie, Baker as beleaguered facility director Skip Bowman, and Guillory, Jelly, Diaz and Robbins as members of the cycling team. Christian Sander is producing for Pensé Productions, with Pensé’s Scott Sander serving as EP.

In 1995, Astin and his wife Christine shared an Oscar nom for their live-action short Kangaroo Court. The former’s big-screen acting credits include such notable titles as The Goonies, The War of the Roses, Encino Man, Rudy, Courage Under Fire, the Lord of the Rings films, 50 First Dates, Click and Gloria Bell. He played Joyce Byers’ (Winona Ryder) boyfriend Bob Newby in the second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things and has also been seen on series including Young Rock, The Strain and 24, among many others. Other upcoming projects for the actor include the second season of HBO’s Perry Mason, and XYZ Films’ true-crime thriller The Man in the White Van.

Astin is also no stranger to the world of biking, having become an Ironman by completing a triathlon in Kailua Kona, Hawaii in 2015. He is represented by Luber Roklin Entertainment, Stewart Talent and attorney Dave Feldman at Brecheen Feldman Breimer; McWilliams by APA; Baker and Guillory by Innovative Artists; Kelly by Duvall Mac Talent, TalentWorks and 11:11 Entertainment; Diaz by A3 Artists Agency; and Robbins by A3 and Artistic Endeavors.

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