{"id":19034,"date":"2026-03-11T07:02:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/the-middle-star-atticus-shaffer-on-being-a-role-model\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:07:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:07:04","slug":"the-middle-star-atticus-shaffer-on-being-a-role-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/entertainment\/movies-and-tv\/the-middle-star-atticus-shaffer-on-being-a-role-model\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Middle&#8217; Star Atticus Shaffer On Being A Role Model"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s easy to love Atticus Shaffer. The actor, best known for playing the Heck family&#8217;s oddball youngest son Brick on ABC\u2019s <em>The Middle<\/em>, is admittedly a lot like the quirky nerd he plays on TV. (Given the opportunity, he could spend hours detailing his passion for Legos, reciting war history facts or his musical tastes \u2013 which range from bluegrass-heavy Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers to Christian Rock bands like Skillet and Casting Crowns.) But while some might take issue with being labeled a geek, Shaffer loves what makes him different and is proud that fans can look to him and his character for inspiration when they feel they just don\u2019t fit in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the biggest things about playing Brick is that he follows the beat of his own drum, which I do too,\u201d Shaffer told Guideposts.org. \u201cBrick is a role model character. He\u2019s showing it\u2019s okay to be smart and it\u2019s okay to be unique and it\u2019s okay to be quirky.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many have to suffer through high school before learning this lesson, but Shaffer picked it up at a very young age. The actor booked the role on his hit family-comedy back in 2009 when he was just 11 years old. The show, now in its sixth season, saw Shaffer working alongside TV legends like Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn and being thrust into the limelight before he\u2019d even reached his teens.<\/p>\n<p>Now, at 16, Shaffer views the experience as an opportunity to be for millions of kids something he doesn\u2019t remember having growing up: a Hollywood star worthy of looking up to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember when I was younger [thinking] \u2018Why can\u2019t there be better role models?\u2019\u201d Shaffer said. \u201cYou see all these reality shows that are on TV right now and it\u2019s truly horrendous and what\u2019s happening is people are tuning in and seeing that and they\u2019re going \u2018Oh, doing drugs and drinking before 21, yeah, that\u2019s cool.\u2019 That\u2019s not what you\u2019re supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<table align=\"right\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"15\" cellspacing=\"15\" style=\"height: 100px; width: 350px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<h2 class=\"rteindent1\"><em><strong>When you let God take over, anything is possible.<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Shaffer, who grew up in Southern California, credits his faith for keeping him so grounded. \u201cI\u2019m in the position that I\u2019m in because I just let God take over,\u201d Shaffer said of his success. \u201cAnd when you let God take over, anything is possible. <span style=\"line-height: 1.428571429;\">He just guides you to what\u2019s specifically for you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.428571429;\">One of the biggest blessings in the star\u2019s life is something many would view as a roadblock. Shaffer has a genetic condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta which is often described as brittle bone disease. The actor doesn\u2019t like that label and explains that the condition \u2013 which usually results in growth stunts and easily fractured bones <\/span>\u2013<span style=\"line-height: 1.428571429;\"> doesn\u2019t keep him from doing any of the things a normal teenager would do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a genetic condition that causes your bones to form at a later time,\u201d Shaffer said of the diagnosis. \u201cMy bones are more fragile than another person\u2019s bones and therefore I have to be more careful in certain situations. So, can I run around? Yes. Do I have to be careful about running around? If I fall do I have a chance of [my bones] breaking? Yes. It\u2019s really just as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As easy-going as Shaffer is about his condition now, the actor admits there was a time when being born with a disease that many doctors don\u2019t understand was challenging for him and his family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was born and going to a hospital that [wasn\u2019t] familiar with O.I., they looked at my mom, shook her and said \u2018You need to get a grip on the fact that your son is going to be in a wheel chair for the rest of his life,\u2019\u201d Shaffer admits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mom, being the strong-willed Polish woman that she is, wouldn\u2019t accept that. My mom and dad kept looking for the correct hospital that is familiar with O.I. and that hospital gave me opportunities to do everything and be as close to a normal person as I can be. I don\u2019t like to say normal, because I\u2019m not normal either, I\u2019m just me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His condition has afforded the young star an even bigger opportunity to make a difference in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s really a huge blessing on my life,\u201d Shaffer said. \u201cI\u2019m able to be a role model in that regard as well. It\u2019s awesome because it\u2019s all God. It\u2019s all God letting me know \u2018Hey, I have a plan for you, this is where you\u2019re gonna go.\u2019 It\u2019s amazing what I\u2019ve been able to do and what I\u2019ve been able to accomplish and even just the people I\u2019ve been able to meet. I\u2019m very blessed to be in the position I\u2019m in and I never want to take it for granted because unfortunately this is a business where you\u2019re kind of all over the place and there\u2019s a bunch of different stuff that can go wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shaffer hopes that by being open about his beliefs, he can inspire others to pursue their own dreams. \u201cI want to be able to not only praise Him for what he\u2019s done for me specifically, I want to give hope to other people for what they want to accomplish, whatever their dreams are,\u201d the actor said. \u201cI have been blessed and now I want to bless others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Middle<em> airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s easy to love Atticus Shaffer. The actor, best known for playing the Heck family&#8217;s oddball youngest son Brick on ABC\u2019s The Middle, is admittedly a lot like the quirky nerd he plays on TV. (Given the opportunity, he could spend hours detailing his passion for Legos, reciting war history facts or his musical tastes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":28191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[25,55,197,260],"ppma_author":[470],"class_list":["post-19034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movies-and-tv","tag-family","tag-inspiration","tag-motivational-stories","tag-tv-series"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#8216;The Middle&#8217; Star Atticus Shaffer On Being A Role Model - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#8216;The Middle&#8217; Star Atticus Shaffer On Being A Role Model\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s easy to love Atticus Shaffer. 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