Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the biopic Milk (2008). Penn began his acting career in television, with a brief appearance in episode 112 of Little House on the Prairie on December 4, 1974, directed by his father Leo Penn. Following his film debut in the drama Taps (1981), and a diverse range of film roles in the 1980s, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Bad Boys (1983), Penn garnered critical attention for his roles in the crime dramas At Close Range (1986), State of Grace (1990), and Carlito's Way (1993). He became known as a prominent leading actor with the drama Dead Man Walking (1995), for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination and the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival. Penn received another two Oscar nominations for Woody Allen's comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and the drama I Am Sam (2001), before winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for Mystic River and a second one in 2008 for Milk. He has also won a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for the Nick Cassavetes-directed She's So Lovely (1997), and two Volpi Cups for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for the indie film Hurlyburly (1998) and the drama 21 Grams (2003). Penn made his feature film directorial debut with The Indian Runner (1991), followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard (1995) and the mystery film The Pledge (2001); all three were critically well received. Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 11'09"01 September 11 (2002), a compilation film made in response to the September 11 attacks. His fourth feature film, the biographical drama survival movie Into the Wild (2007), garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations. In addition to his film work, Penn has engaged in political and social activism, including his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the Presidents of Cuba and Venezuela, and his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · In Thanks We Trust as Self
- 2025 · One Battle After Another as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw
- 2025 · aka Charlie Sheen as Self
- 2021 · Licorice Pizza as Jack Holden
- 2021 · Flag Day as John Vogel
- 2019 · Lights Out with David Spade as Self
- 2018 · Firing Line with Margaret Hoover as
- 2016 · The Angry Birds Movie as Terence (voice)
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self - Guest
- 2013 · The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as Sean O'Connell
- 2011 · The Tree of Life as Jack
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2005 · The Reichen Show as Self
- 2004 · The Assassination of Richard Nixon as Samuel Bicke
- 2003 · Mystic River as Jimmy Markum
- 2003 · Two and a Half Men as Himself
- 2003 · 21 Grams as Paul Rivers
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2003 · Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
- 2000 · Curb Your Enthusiasm as Sean Penn
- 1999 · Where Are They Now? as Self
- 1999 · Family Guy as Sean Penn (voice)
- 1998 · The Thin Red Line as 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
- 1997 · The Game as Conrad Van Orton
- 1997 · The View as Self
- 1994 · Friends as Eric
- 1993 · Carlito's Way as David Kleinfeld
- 1990 · State of Grace as Terry
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- 1974 · Little House on the Prairie as
- 1965 · aspekte as Self
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
- Future · Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame as Himself
- 2025 · Animals in War as
- 2025 · Everybody's Live with John Mulaney as Self - Actor and Founder of CORE
- 2024 · Bruce Springsteen – The America whisperer as Self - Director, Writer (archive footage)
- 2024 · Daddio as Clark
- 2024 · BRATS as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2024 · Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique as Self
- 2024 · Asphalt City as Gene Rutkovsky
- 2023 · Gonzo Girl as
- 2023 · Superpower as Self
- 2022 · Gaslit as John Mitchell
- 2020 · Citizen Penn as Himself
- 2020 · Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read as Pizza Guy
- 2019 · The Professor and the Madman as Dr. William Chester Minor
- 2018 · The First as Tom Haggerty
- 2017 · Sound of Sun as Man
- 2017 · Mad Hannans as
- 2015 · The Gunman as Jim Terrier
- 2015 · Beaver Trilogy Part IV as Himself (archive footage)
- 2015 · Sweet Micky for President as Self
- 2014 · Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story as Himself
- 2014 · Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey as Self
- 2014 · The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles as Self
- 2013 · The Human Experiment as Narrator
- 2013 · Gangster Squad as Mickey Cohen
- 2012 · Americans as Commie
- 2012 · Haiti Untold as
- 2011 · Woody Allen: A Documentary as Self
- 2011 · Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division as Self
- 2011 · This Must Be the Place as Cheyenne
- 2011 · Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune as Self
- 2010 · I'm Still Here as Sean Penn (uncredited)
- 2010 · Fair Game as Joseph Wilson
- 2009 · The People Speak as Self
- 2009 · Deflating the Elephant as Narrator
- 2008 · Milk as Harvey Milk
- 2008 · What Just Happened as Self
- 2008 · Witch Hunt as Himself (Narrator)
- 2008 · VH1 Rock Honors: The Who as Self
- 2008 · Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis as Self
- 2007 · Brando as Self
- 2007 · Brando: The Documentary as Self
- 2006 · Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride as Self
- 2006 · All the King's Men as Willie Stark
- 2006 · When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts as Self
- 2006 · VH1 Rock Honors as
- 2005 · Iconoclasts as Self
- 2005 · The Interpreter as Tobin Keller
- 2004 · The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing as Self
- 2004 · Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild as Self(archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2004 · Mystic River: Beneath the Surface as Self
- 2004 · Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments as Self
- 2004 · 21 Grams: In Fragments as Self
- 2003 · Mystic River: From Page to Screen as Self
- 2003 · Viva La Bam as
- 2003 · Inside Björk as Self
- 2003 · Celebrities Uncensored as Self
- 2003 · Pauly Shore Is Dead as Sean Penn
- 2003 · Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) as Self
- 2003 · Bukowski: Born Into This as Self
- 2003 · It's All About Love as Marciello
- 2003 · This So-Called Disaster as Ray
- 2002 · Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick as Self
- 2002 · Searching for Debra Winger as Self (uncredited)
- 2002 · Dogtown and Z-Boys as Narrator
- 2001 · I Am Sam as Sam Dawson
- 2000 · The Weight of Water as Thomas Janes
- 2000 · Before Night Falls as Cuco Sanchez
- 2000 · Beaver Trilogy as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
- 2000 · Up at the Villa as Rowley Flint
- 2000 · A Constant Forge as Self
- 1999 · Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High as
- 1999 · Sweet and Lowdown as Emmet Ray
- 1999 · The Early Show as Self
- 1999 · Being John Malkovich as Sean Penn (uncredited)
- 1998 · Hurlyburly as Eddie
- 1997 · Hugo Pool as Strange Hitchhiker
- 1997 · Loved as Man on the Hill (Michael)
- 1997 · U Turn as Bobby Cooper
- 1997 · She's So Lovely as Eddie Quinn
- 1995 · Dead Man Walking as Matthew Poncelet
- 1994 · Inside the Actors Studio as Self
- 1993 · The Last Party as Self
- 1993 · Madonna: The Name of the Game as Self
- 1992 · Cruise Control as
- 1990 · Cool Blue as Phil the Plumber (uncredited)
- 1989 · Casualties of War as Sgt. Tony Meserve
- 1989 · We're No Angels as Jim
- 1988 · Judgment in Berlin as Guenther X
- 1988 · Colors as Danny McGavin
- 1987 · Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam as (voice)
- 1986 · Shanghai Surprise as Glendon Wasey
- 1986 · At Close Range as Bradford "Brad" Whitewood Jr.
- 1985 · The Falcon and the Snowman as Daulton Lee
- 1984 · Racing with the Moon as Henry 'Hopper' Nash
- 1984 · Crackers as Dillard
- 1983 · Risky Business as Passenger in Car (uncredited)
- 1983 · Summerspell as Buddy
- 1983 · Bad Boys as Mick O'Brien
- 1982 · Fast Times at Ridgemont High as Jeff Spicoli
- 1981 · Taps as Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
- 1981 · The Beaver Kid 2 as Groovin' Larry
- 1981 · The Killing of Randy Webster as Don Fremont
- 1981 · Hellinger's Law as Bit Part (uncredited)