Sean Penn

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for three British Academy Film Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Grammy Award. He received an Honorary César in 2015.

Penn made his feature film debut in the drama Taps (1981), before taking roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Bad Boys (1983), and At Close Range (1986). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice, for playing a grieving father in Mystic River (2003) and the gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk (2008). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Dead Man Walking (1995), Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and I Am Sam (2001). He also acted in Casualties of War (1989), State of Grace (1990), Carlito's Way (1993), She's So Lovely (1997), The Game (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Hurlyburly (1998), 21 Grams (2003), Fair Game (2010), The Tree of Life (2011), Licorice Pizza (2021), and Daddio (2023).

Penn made his directorial film debut with the crime drama The Indian Runner (1991), followed byThe Crossing Guard (1995), The Pledge (2001), and Into the Wild (2007). On stage, he acted in the Broadway plays Heartland (1981) and Slab Boys (1983). On television, he portrayed an astronaut in the Hulu drama series The First (2018) and John N. Mitchell in the Starz political thriller miniseries Gaslit (2022).

Penn has also engaged in political and social activism, including his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the presidents of Cuba and Venezuela, his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and his support for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amidst the Russian-Ukrainian War.

Penn was born Sean Justin Penn on August 17, 1960 in Santa Monica, California, to actor and director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci). His older brother is musician Michael Penn. His younger brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His father was a Jew whose parents were emigrants from Merkinė in Lithuania, and his mother was a Catholic of Irish and Italian descent.

Penn was raised in a secular home in Malibu, California, and attended Malibu Park Junior High School and Santa Monica High School. He began making short films with some of his childhood friends including actors Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, who lived near his home.

Penn appeared in a 1974 episode of the Little House on the Prairie television series as an extra when his father, Leo, directed some of the episodes. Penn launched his film career with the action-drama Taps (1981), where he played a military high school cadet. That same year he made his Broadway debut in the Kevin Heelan play Heartland at the Century Theatre. A year later, he appeared in the hit comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), in the role of surfer-stoner Jeff Spicoli; his character helped popularize the word "dude" in popular culture. Next, Penn appeared as Mick O'Brien, a troubled youth, in the drama Bad Boys (1983). The role earned Penn favorable reviews and jump-started his career as a serious actor. He returned to Broadway that same year acting in the John Byrne play Slab Boys acting alongside Kevin Bacon, Val Kilmer, Jackie Earl Haley, and Madeleine Potter at the Playhouse Theatre.

Penn played Andrew Daulton Lee in the film The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), which closely followed an actual criminal case. Lee was a former drug dealer, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and originally sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled in 1998. Penn later hired Lee as his personal assistant, partly because he wanted to reward Lee for allowing him to play Lee in the film; Penn was also a firm believer in rehabilitation and thought Lee should be successfully reintegrated into society, since he was a free man again. Penn starred in the drama At Close Range (1986) which received critical acclaim. He stopped acting for a few years in the early 1990s, having been dissatisfied with the industry, and focused on making his directing debut.

In 1990, Penn portrayed Detective Terry Noonan in the neo-noir State of Grace opposite Ed Harris and Gary Oldman. The following year, Penn made his directorial debut with The Indian Runner (1991), a crime drama film based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman", from the 1982 album Nebraska. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "Flirting constantly with the dangers of pure self-indulgence, Mr. Penn still manages to keep the improvisatory quality of this painful family drama from becoming overwhelming. For all its hazy excesses, the film seldom loses sight of its story's raw essence." He also directed music videos, such as Shania Twain's "Dance with the One That Brought You" (1993), Lyle Lovett's "North Dakota" (1993). After a brief hiatus from acting, he returned to star in the Brian De Palma crime drama Carlito's Way (1993) acting opposite Al Pacino. Film critic Leonard Klady of Variety wrote of his performance, "Penn reminds viewers of what they've been missing in his performance as Carlito's ambitious, amoral lawyer. Without stooping to caricature, he effortlessly captures what is most heinous in the profession." Penn was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.

He also directed the indie thriller The Crossing Guard (1995) starring Jack Nicholson. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "Penn is a slugger of a film maker, whether pummeling his audience with the obvious or hammering home the heartfelt and true. His second feature...has the same brute force that made his Indian Runner such a gripping oddity, bearing the distinctive stamp of Mr. Penn's raw, searching style". That same year he acting alongside Susan Sarandon starring in the Tim Robbins directed crime drama playing a racist murderer on death row in Dead Man Walking (1995). Critic Roger Ebert wrote "Penn proves again that he is the most powerful actor of his generation". For his performance he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The following year he acted in Nick Cassavetes directed romantic drama She's So Lovely (1997) opposite his then-wife Robin Wright Penn. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly compared the film to the works of John Cassavetes and wrote that Penn's performance "is so full of heart and talent". Penn won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. That same year he acted in the Oliver Stone directed neo-noir crime drama U Turn, and David Fincher's mystery thriller The Game.

In 1997, he starred in the independent drama Hurlyburly based on the 1984 play of the same name by David Rabe. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote, "Sean Penn ends up dominating the film, sweating anxiety and rage from every pore. His charisma and screen presence are undeniable". For his performance he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice International Film Festival. That same year he had a leading role in the Terrence Malick epic about the World War II battle for Guadalcanal in The Thin Red Line (1998) based on the 1962 novel of the same name by James Jones. The following year he portrayed an egotisitcal jazz guitarist in the Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Roger Ebert described Penn's performances as "master classes in the art of character development". For his performance he was nominated for his second Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 2000, Penn acted in Julian Schnabel's drama Before Night Falls opposite Javier Bardem and Kathryn Bigelow's thriller The Weight of Water with Elizabeth Hurley. The following year he guest starred on the NBC sitcom Friends portraying Eric, a man who was engaged to Phoebe Buffay's sister Ursula, both of whom are played by Lisa Kudrow. He appeared in two episodes in the eighth season. That same year he portrayed a mentally handicapped father in the family drama I am Sam (2001). His performance led him to his third nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

In 2003, he starred in the Clint Eastwood directed Boston crime drama Mystic River portraying a grieving father looking for his daughter. Penn acted alongside Tim Robbins, Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden, and Kevin Bacon. Film critic Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "[The] Casting is immaculate. Penn is in top form as the reformed hood whose basic instincts overtake him." Penn received widespread acclaim for his performance earning numerous accolades including the Academy Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor as well as nominations for the BAFTA Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. That same year he acted in Alejandro González Iñárritu's psychological thriller 21 Grams opposite Naomi Watts and Benicio del Toro. For his performance he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor at the 57th British Academy Film Awards.

In 2004, Penn played Samuel Bicke, a character based on Samuel Byck, who in 1974 attempted and failed to assassinate President Richard Nixon, in The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004). The same year, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Next, Penn portrayed governor Willie Stark (based on Huey Long) in an adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's classic 1946 American novel All the King's Men (2006). The film was a critical and commercial failure, named by a 2010 Forbes article as the biggest flop in the last five years. During this time he directed the mystery film The Pledge (2001) and Peter Gabriel's "The Barry Williams Show" (2002). Penn gained acclaim for directing the biographical drama survival film Into the Wild (2007). Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised wrote, "Penn has written and directed with magnificent precision and imaginative grace". For his direction he was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film.