Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. His accolades include three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for three British Academy Film Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Grammy Award. He received the Honorary César in 2015 and the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2022. 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 has 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 won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing the ruthless military officer Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another (2025). He was Oscar-nominated for 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), 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 by The 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 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sean Penn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another
as Self
Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another
as Self
Animals in War
Animals in War
In Thanks We Trust
as Self
In Thanks We Trust
as Self
Becoming Madonna
as Self (archive footage)
Becoming Madonna
as Self (archive footage)
Bruce Springsteen: The America Whisperer
as Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage)
Bruce Springsteen: The America Whisperer
as Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage)
BRATS
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
BRATS
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gonzo Girl
Gonzo Girl
Superpower
as Self
Superpower
as Self
Licorice Pizza
as Jack Holden
Licorice Pizza
as Jack Holden
Val
as Self (archive)
Val
as Self (archive)
Citizen Penn
as Himself
Citizen Penn
as Himself
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read
as Pizza Guy
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read
as Pizza Guy
The Professor and the Madman
as Dr. William Chester Minor
The Professor and the Madman
as Dr. William Chester Minor
The Angry Birds Movie
as Terence (voice)
The Angry Birds Movie
as Terence (voice)
El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle
as Self
El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle
as Self
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story
as Himself
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story
as Himself
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
as Self
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
as Self
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
as Self
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
as Self
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
as Sean O'Connell
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
as Sean O'Connell
Gangster Squad
as Mickey Cohen
Gangster Squad
as Mickey Cohen
Woody Allen: A Documentary
as Self
Woody Allen: A Documentary
as Self
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
as Self
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
as Self
I'm Still Here
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
I'm Still Here
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Fair Game
as Joseph Wilson
Fair Game
as Joseph Wilson
What Just Happened
as Sean Penn
What Just Happened
as Sean Penn
War Made Easy
as Narrator (Voice)
War Made Easy
as Narrator (Voice)
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
as Self
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
as Self
All the King's Men
as Willie Stark
All the King's Men
as Willie Stark
The Interpreter
as Tobin Keller
The Interpreter
as Tobin Keller
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
as Self
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
as Self
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
as Self(archive footage) (uncredited)
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
as Self(archive footage) (uncredited)
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
as Self
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
as Self
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
as Samuel Bicke
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
as Samuel Bicke
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
as Self
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
as Self
21 Grams
as Paul Rivers
21 Grams
as Paul Rivers
Mystic River
as Jimmy Markum
Mystic River
as Jimmy Markum
Pauly Shore Is Dead
as Sean Penn
Pauly Shore Is Dead
as Sean Penn
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
as Self
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
as Self
Bukowski: Born Into This
as Self
Bukowski: Born Into This
as Self
It's All About Love
as Marciello
It's All About Love
as Marciello
This So-Called Disaster
as Ray
This So-Called Disaster
as Ray
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
as Self
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
as Self
Searching for Debra Winger
as Self (uncredited)
Searching for Debra Winger
as Self (uncredited)
Dogtown and Z-Boys
as Narrator
Dogtown and Z-Boys
as Narrator
I Am Sam
as Sam Dawson
I Am Sam
as Sam Dawson
A Constant Forge
as Self
A Constant Forge
as Self
Beaver Trilogy
as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
Beaver Trilogy
as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
Up at the Villa
as Rowley Flint
Up at the Villa
as Rowley Flint
Sweet and Lowdown
as Emmet Ray
Sweet and Lowdown
as Emmet Ray
Being John Malkovich
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Being John Malkovich
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Hurlyburly
as Eddie
Hurlyburly
as Eddie
The Thin Red Line
as 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
The Thin Red Line
as 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
Hugo Pool
as Strange Hitchhiker
Hugo Pool
as Strange Hitchhiker
Loved
as Man on the Hill (Michael)
Loved
as Man on the Hill (Michael)
U Turn
as Bobby Cooper
U Turn
as Bobby Cooper
Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame
as Himself
Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame
as Himself
Carlito's Way
as David Kleinfeld
Carlito's Way
as David Kleinfeld
The Last Party
as Self
The Last Party
as Self
Cruise Control
Cruise Control
State of Grace
as Terry
State of Grace
as Terry
Cool Blue
as Phil the Plumber (uncredited)
Cool Blue
as Phil the Plumber (uncredited)
Casualties of War
as Sgt. Tony Meserve
Casualties of War
as Sgt. Tony Meserve
We're No Angels
as Jim
We're No Angels
as Jim
Judgment in Berlin
as Guenther X
Judgment in Berlin
as Guenther X
Colors
as Danny McGavin
Colors
as Danny McGavin
Shanghai Surprise
as Glendon Wasey
Shanghai Surprise
as Glendon Wasey
At Close Range
as Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
At Close Range
as Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
The Falcon and the Snowman
as Daulton Lee
The Falcon and the Snowman
as Daulton Lee
Racing with the Moon
as Henry 'Hopper' Nash
Racing with the Moon
as Henry 'Hopper' Nash
Crackers
as Dillard
Crackers
as Dillard
Risky Business
as Passenger in Car (uncredited)
Risky Business
as Passenger in Car (uncredited)
Summerspell
as Buddy
Summerspell
as Buddy
Bad Boys
as Mick O'Brien
Bad Boys
as Mick O'Brien
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
as Jeff Spicoli
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
as Jeff Spicoli
Hellinger's Law
as Bit Part (uncredited)
Hellinger's Law
as Bit Part (uncredited)