The Many, Many Reasons Sean Astin Was Trending on Twitter

It all started with an otter pic.

Sean Astin was trending on multiple fronts Friday after Twitter — and Astin himself — reacted with mock outrage when a fan dared to identify the veteran actor as simply that guy from "Stranger Things."

Late on Thursday, a Twitter user named sam posted adorable pics of the screen legend swimming with an enamored otter. They were cute photos, but the reaction to the poster's comment set social media ablaze.

"idk who needed this but sean astin from stranger things with an otter," wrote Sam.

Almost instantly, Twitter was flooded with posts from fans appalled the 48-year-old was being identified merely by his most recent (albeit beloved) turn as Hawkins hero Bob Newby on the hit Netflix show.

There were so many Astin appreciation tweets that not only was his name the top trending topic, but the likes of "Goonies", "Rudy" and "Encino Man" were also separately trending too, as Friday eventually morphed into "Sean Astin Appreciation Day".

"Sean Astin deserved a goddamn Oscar nomination for the third LORD OF THE RINGS, not to be turned into 'Sean Astin from STRANGER THINGS'," one fan wrote. "He did not trek all the way to Mordor for that shit."

Astin, who has 68 film, 37 TV and nine video game credits to his name so far, watched as just about every one of them was referenced in tens of thousands of tweets, with fans citing every role from Aron ("Elvis Has Left The Building") to Zorbell ("Bigger Than The Sky").

Astin himself, delighted with the outpouring of love, even got in on the fun, retweeting fans praising even his most obscure of roles.

"Definitive answer to the great question of the night: Sean Astin, CO-STAR OF OTTER PIC is/was trending!!! (laughing my pants off)," he tweeted.

When one fan Tweeted a montage pic of some of his most famous characters with the caption "Sean Astin: For every Generation there is a Hero", Astin retweeted it and explained the trend with his personal motto: "People will root for anyone who shows them their heart!!!!"

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