Sean Penn
Biography
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is a European-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.
Acting (100 movies)
The Interpreter
2005
Mystic River
2003
21 Grams
2003
Dogtown and Z-Boys
2002
Milk
2008
Casualties of War
1989
U Turn
1997
Dead Man Walking
1995
Licorice Pizza
2021
State of Grace
1990
All the King's Men
2006
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
2004
Taps
1981
Colors
1988
The Game
1997
I Am Sam
2001
Before Night Falls
2000
We're No Angels
1989
Haiti Untold
2012
I'm Still Here
2010
Carlito's Way
1993
Sweet Micky for President
2015
Hurlyburly
1998
The Thin Red Line
1998
What Just Happened
2008
The Tree of Life
2011
Hugo Pool
1997
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
2006
It's All About Love
2003
The Falcon and the Snowman
1985
The People Speak
2009
Sweet and Lowdown
1999
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1982
The Weight of Water
2001
21 Grams: In Fragments
2004
Bad Boys
1983
At Close Range
1986
Searching for Debra Winger
2002
Beaver Trilogy
2000
Fair Game
2010
She's So Lovely
1997
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
2004
Racing with the Moon
1984
Up at the Villa
2000
Judgment in Berlin
1988
Woody Allen: A Documentary
2011
Gangster Squad
2013
This Must Be the Place
2011
Animals in War
2025
Loved
1997
Shanghai Surprise
1986
Crackers
1984
Superpower
2023
The Killing of Randy Webster
1981
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2013
Gonzo Girl
2023
Summerspell
1983
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
2002
Cruise Control
1992
The Human Experiment
2013
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
2014
The Gunman
2015
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
2014
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story
2014
One Battle After Another
2025
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
2003
The Last Party
1993
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
2004
Inside Björk
2003
The Angry Birds Movie
2016
Risky Business
1983
BRATS
2024
Pauly Shore Is Dead
2003
Bruce Springsteen – The America whisperer
2024
Bukowski: Born Into This
2003
The Professor and the Madman
2019
Sound of Sun
2017
Brando
2007
This So-Called Disaster
2003
Being John Malkovich
1999
Hellinger's Law
1981
Cool Blue
1990
Americans
2012
Witch Hunt
2008
A Constant Forge
2000
Deflating the Elephant
2009
Beaver Trilogy Part IV
2015
Madonna: The Name of the Game
1993
Flag Day
2021
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1999
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
1987
Citizen Penn
2020
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read
2020
Asphalt City
2024
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who
2008
Daddio
2024
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
2011
Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique
2024
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
2004
In Thanks We Trust
2025
Directing (8 movies)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Indian Runner | 1991 | Screenplay |
| The Crossing Guard | 1995 | Writer |
| The Crossing Guard | 1995 | Producer |
| She's So Lovely | 1997 | Executive Producer |
| Loved | 1997 | Producer |
| The Pledge | 2001 | Producer |
| 11 Minutes, 9 Seconds, 1 Image | 2002 | Writer |
| Into the Wild | 2007 | Screenplay |
| Into the Wild | 2007 | Producer |
| The Human Experiment | 2013 | Executive Producer |
| The Gunman | 2015 | Screenplay |
| The Gunman | 2015 | Producer |
| kid 90 | 2021 | Executive Producer |
| Flag Day | 2021 | Producer |
| Asphalt City | 2024 | Producer |
| September 5 | 2024 | Producer |
| Manas | 2025 | Executive Producer |
| Words of War | 2025 | Executive Producer |