Atticus Shaffer

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Atticus Shaffer
AtticusShafferHWOFMay2012.jpg
Shaffer attending the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2012.
Born (1998-06-19) June 19, 1998 (age 23)
Santa Clarita, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, voice actor
Years active2007–present
Known forRole as Brick Heck in The Middle

Atticus Ronald Shaffer (born June 19, 1998) is an American actor known for playing Brick Heck 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 series The Lion Guard (2016–2019), and for his brief appearance in Hancock (2008).[1]

Career[]

The Middle[]

Main articles: The Middle and List of The Middle characters

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 fonts. Brick is socially awkward, and repeatedly overlooked by the members of his family, such as via forgotten birthdays. The series and its cast were nominated dozens of times for awards, and won over a dozen collectively.

In a Wired 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[s] out over the weirdest stuff".[2] In May 2011, a TV Guide article had reported the closeness as well.[3] 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.[4]

Personal life[]

Shaffer, named after Atticus Finch, the lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird, was born in Santa Clarita, California, the son of Ron and Debbie Shaffer. He lives in Acton, California.[4][5]

Shaffer has type four osteogenesis imperfecta,[6][7][8] a condition involving a defect in type 1 collagen, which causes fragile bones and short stature; he is 4' 8" (142 cm) tall.[9][10]

Shaffer is a Christian and as of 2018 had a daily Bible study with his mother, alternating between the Old and the New Testaments.[11] As of 2015, the year he was baptized, he was a fan of Christian rock music and identified several Christian bands among his favorites.[9][12]

Shaffer has official YouTube and Twitch 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.[13]

Filmography[]

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Class Jonah Episode: "The Class Rides a Bull"
2007 Days of Our Lives Irish boy Episode 1.10632
2007 Human Giant Wade Episode: "Mind Explosion"
2008 Carpoolers Boy Episode: "Take Your Daughter to Work Day"
2008 Out of Jimmy's Head Aaron Episode: "Bad Fad"
2009 My Name Is Earl Space camper Episode: "Chaz Dalton's Space Academy"
2009–2018 The Middle Brick Heck Main role; 215 episodes
2010 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Himself Special guest, 1 episode
2010–2014 Fish Hooks Albert Glass (voice) 28 episodes
2011 I'm in the Band Eddie Nova, Jr. Episode: "Camp Weasel Rock"
2011 The Penguins of Madagascar Vesuvius Twins (voice) 3 episodes
2011 Shake It Up Zane Episode: "Beam It Up"
2011 ThunderCats Young Emrick (voice) Episode: "Song of the Petalars"
2012 See Dad Run Episode: "See Dad Find His Way Home Part 1"
2013–2018 Steven Universe Peedee Fryman (voice) Recurring role
2015 Clarence Seabass (voice) Episode: "Hoofin' It"
2016–2019 The Lion Guard Ono (voice) Main role
2016–2018 Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh Fox (voice) Recurring role
2017 Pete the Cat: A Groovy New Year Grumpy Toad (voice) Holiday special
2017–2018 Pete the Cat Grumpy Toad (voice) 9 episodes
2017–2019 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Dennis (voice) 3 episodes
2018–2020 Harvey Street Kids Melvin (voice) Main role
2020 Never Have I Ever Russia Model UN representative Episode: "...started a nuclear war"

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Leaving Barstow Boy on bus
2008 Hancock Boy at bus bench
2008 An American Carol Timmy
Atticus
2009 The Unborn Matty Newton
2009 Opposite Day Small Man
2009 Subject: I Love You Tommy Voice role
2012 Frankenweenie Edgar "E" Gore Voice role
2013 Super Buddies Monk-E Voice role
2015 The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar Ono Voice role; Television film
2016 Monkey Up Mooner Voice role
2017 The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar Ono Voice role; Television film
2018 I'll Be Next Door for Christmas Archie
2019 The Lion Guard: Battle for the Pride Lands Ono Voice role; Television film
2021 Arlo the Alligator Boy "Kids Things" Kid
Ice Cream Kid
Kid Bully 		Voice role; Television film

Radio[]

Year Title Role Notes
2016–present Adventures in Odyssey Morrie Rydell Recurring role

Self[]

Year Title Notes
2009, 2010, 2011 Jimmy Kimmel Live! 3 episodes
2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 The View 4 episodes
2010 The Bonnie Hunt Show Episode: "30 March 2010"
2010, 2017 Entertainment Tonight 2 episodes
2010 Lopez Tonight Episode: "3 November 2010"
2010 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Episode: #19.44
2010 79th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade Episode: "10 December 2010"
2011 25th Annual Genesis Awards Episode: "30 April 2011"
2011 Conan Episode: "The Container Store Of My Discontent"
2011 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Episode: "The Sharrock Family"
2012 Good Morning America Episode: "6 February 2012"
2012 Live with Kelly and Michael Episode: "6 February 2012"
2012 Made in Hollywood Episode: #8.3
2013 The Queen Latifah Show Episode: #1.8
2013 40th Annual Annie Awards Presenter
2013 The Chew Episode: "Meals from the Heartland"
2014, 2015, 2018 Home & Family 3 episodes
2015 Celebrity Page Episode: October 16, 2015
2016 The Real Episode "15 January 2016"

Awards and nominations[]

Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
2010 Media Access Awards RJ Mitte Diversity Award (for an actor with a physical or emotional disability) The Middle Won [14]
2010/11 Young Artist Awards Outstanding Young Ensemble in a TV Series The Middle Nominated
2013 Annie Awards Voice Acting in a Feature Production Frankenweenie Nominated [15]

References[]

  1. ^ "About Atticus Shaffer". ABC. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010.
  2. ^ Cericola, Rachel (January 8, 2013). "5 Questions With Frankenweenie Actor Atticus Shaffer". Wired. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  3. ^ Hochman, David (May 18, 2011). "Meet 'The Middle' Scene Stealer Atticus Shaffer". TV Guide. Retrieved January 14, 2019. Shaffer is a lot like Brick, the character he plays on 'The Middle'.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Barnes, Brooks (May 6, 2010). "Everybody Loves the Weird Kid". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Bennett, Mark (February 27, 2011). "Caught in the 'Middle' – Terre Haute Tribune Star: Lifestyles". Tribune-Star. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  6. ^ WENN. "Atticus Shaffer opens up about brittle bone condition". Hollywood.com. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  7. ^ Harvey, Kerry (March 6, 2015). "The Middle star says it's OK to be a nerd". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  8. ^ Gliatto, Tom; Rizzo, Monica; Hamm, Liza (April 12, 2010). "Picks and Pans Review: The Middle's Atticus Shaffer Brick's Layers". People. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Klett, Leah Marieann (March 21, 2015). "'The Middle' Star Atticus Shaffer Opens Up about Acting, His Faith, and Why He Loves Christian Rock". The Gospel Herald. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  10. ^ Klett, Leah MarieAnn (February 9, 2018). "'The Middle' Star Atticus Shaffer Credits God for Success: 'I Could Not Have Gotten Here on My Own'". The Christian Post. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  11. ^ Koslosky, Kayla, ed. (September 24, 2018). "Atticus Shaffer of 'The Middle' Talks Navigating Hollywood as a Christian". Christian Headlines. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  12. ^ Hallowell, Billy (May 21, 2018). "'The Middle' Star Reveals What Led Him to Christ". Pure Flix. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  13. ^ Shaffer, Atticus (December 3, 2019). "I'm on Twitch". YouTube. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  14. ^ "2010 Media Access Awards Honor Hollywood" (Press release). Writers Guild of America, West. October 8, 2010. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  15. ^ Giardina, Carolyn; Zakarin, Jordan (December 3, 2012). "Disney Leads Annie Award Best Picture Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 19, 2015.

External links[]

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