Steve Eastin (born June 22, 1948) is an American actor, acting teacher and author. He has appeared in more than 300 television, film and stage roles throughout his career.

Early life and education

Eastin was born in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, where he began to study acting at the young age of six at his local theater. He received his Actor Equity card at age 16 when he performed in two musicals choreographed by Micheal Bennet. Later, he attended the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

, where he appeared in several productions at the Little Theater of the Rockies, whose alumni include

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nol ...

. After college, Eastin received a fellowship to teach at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, where he appeared in his first SAG role opposite

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

in ''

Joe Kidd ''Joe Kidd'' is a 1972 American Revisionist Western film starring Clint Eastwood and Robert Duvall, written by Elmore Leonard and directed by John Sturges. The film is about an ex-bounty hunter hired by a wealthy landowner named Frank Harlan ...

''. Eastin moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to further pursue his acting career, enrolling in the Charles Conrad Studio upon arrival in 1974.

Career

While attending Charles' class, Eastin became interested in teaching acting as well. In 1991, he founded his own acting school, the Steve Eastin Studio. The studio teaches what Eastin refers to as "

Choiceless awareness is posited in philosophy, psychology, and spirituality to be the state of unpremeditated, complete awareness of the present without preference, effort, or compulsion. The term was popularized in mid-20th century by Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishn ...

", where the actors do not read into the script, nor prepare their "beats" or think about what or how they may read their lines. Eastin is best known for appearing in such films as ''

Field of Dreams ''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, and based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel '' Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...

'' (1989), ''

Con Air ''Con Air'' is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich in the lead roles. Written by Scott Rosenberg and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film centers on a pr ...

'' (1997) and ''

A Man Apart ''A Man Apart'' is a 2003 American vigilante action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray and co-produced by and starring Vin Diesel as Sean Vetter, an undercover DEA agent who is on a vendetta to take down a mysterious drug lord named Diabl ...

'' (2003). He played opposite

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

in two pivotal scenes in ''

Catch Me if You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, and James Brolin in ...

'' (2002). Eastin is also known for his numerous television appearances, including on ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

'', ''

CHiPS ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

'', ''

T.J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network u ...

'', ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'' and ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

''.

Personal life

He is a descendant of the D'Estaing family of France.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastin, Steve 1948 births American male film actors American male television actors Living people University of Northern Colorado alumni Male actors from Colorado Male actors from Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival award winners