Atticus Ronald Shaffer (born June 19, 1998) is an American actor known for playing
Brick Heck
'' The Middle'' is an American sitcom about a working-class family living in Indiana and facing the day-to-day struggles of home life, work, and raising children. ''The Middle'' originally aired from September 30, 2009 to May 22, 2018 on the ABC n ...
on the
ABC sitcom ''
The Middle'' (2009–2018), as well as for voicing Edgar in the film ''
Frankenweenie'' (2012) and Ono on the
Disney Junior
Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven ...
series ''
The Lion Guard
''The Lion Guard'' is an American animated television series developed by Ford Riley and based on Disney's 1994 film ''The Lion King''. The series was first broadcast with a television film titled ''The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar'' on Disney ...
'' (2016–2019), and for his brief appearance in ''
Hancock'' (2008).
Career
''The Middle''
The role for which Shaffer is thus far most well-known is that of Brick Heck, a character in the American television sitcom ''The Middle''. The role was played by Shaffer during the show's entire nine-season run, from 2009 to 2018. Brick is the youngest of the three Heck siblings, and is highly intelligent and smarter than most people his age. He loves to read and has an ongoing fascination with
font
In movable type, metal typesetting, a font is a particular #Characteristics, size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "Sort (typesetting), sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of ...
s. Brick is socially awkward, and repeatedly overlooked by the members of his family, such as forgotten birthdays. The series and its cast were nominated dozens of times for awards, and won over a dozen collectively.
In a ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
'' magazine interview published in January 2013, Shaffer said his role as Brick was very similar to his own life, as he is also a "big reader" and "nerd
out over the weirdest stuff". In May 2011, a ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...
'' article had reported the closeness as well. Brick's characterization, including his idiosyncratic
palilalian repetition of words and phrases at the end of sentences, is actually based on ''The Middle'' co-creator Eileen Heisler's son, Justin.
Personal life
Named after
Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel of 1960, ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel ''Go Set a Watchman'', written in the mid-1950s but not publ ...
, the lawyer in ''
To Kill a Mockingbird
''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...
'', Shaffer was born in
Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17 ...
, to Ron and Debbie Shaffer. He lives in
Acton, California.
Shaffer has type four
osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition involving a defect in type 1 collagen, which causes fragile bones and short stature; he is 4' 8" (142 cm) tall.
Shaffer is a Christian and as of 2018 had a daily Bible study with his mother, alternating between the Old and the New Testaments. As of 2015, the year he was
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
, he was a fan of Contemporary
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to w ...
music and identified several Christian bands among his favorites.
Shaffer has official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
and
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
video gaming pages, titled "AtticusShafferVlog", the latter of which he announced in December 2019. He plays ''
The Long Dark'' and ''
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare'' among other video games.
Filmography
Television
Film
Radio
Self
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
Atticus Shaffer Vlog on YoutubeAtticus Shaffer Vlog on Twitch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaffer, Atticus
1998 births
21st-century American male actors
American Christians
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Christians from California
Living people
Male actors from Santa Clarita, California
People with osteogenesis imperfecta
21st-century Christians