Sean Penn
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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.
Known for
Credits
One Battle After Another (2025)
as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
as Sean O'Connell
The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
as Terence (voice)
Mystic River (2003)
as Jimmy Markum
The Game (1997)
as Conrad Van Orton
Colors (1988)
as Danny McGavin
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
as Jeff Spicoli
Being John Malkovich (1999)
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
The Tree of Life (2011)
as Jack
Bad Boys (1983)
as Mick O'Brien
Licorice Pizza (2021)
as Jack Holden
Carlito's Way (1993)
as David Kleinfeld
Gangster Squad (2013)
as Mickey Cohen
The Thin Red Line (1998)
as 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
Milk (2008)
as Harvey Milk
I Am Sam (2001)
as Sam Dawson
Risky Business (1983)
as Passenger in Car (uncredited)
21 Grams (2003)
as Paul Rivers
Casualties of War (1989)
as Sgt. Tony Meserve
Flag Day (2021)
as John Vogel
The Interpreter (2005)
as Tobin Keller
Becoming Madonna (2024)
as Self (archive footage)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
as Matthew Poncelet
U Turn (1997)
as Bobby Cooper
Taps (1981)
as Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
The Gunman (2015)
as Jim Terrier
I'm Still Here (2010)
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
State of Grace (1990)
as Terry
All the King's Men (2006)
as Willie Stark
Fair Game (2010)
as Joseph Wilson
Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)
as Self
This Must Be the Place (2011)
as Cheyenne
Racing with the Moon (1984)
as Henry 'Hopper' Nash
Witch Hunt (2008)
as Himself (Narrator)
At Close Range (1986)
as Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
Before Night Falls (2000)
as Cuco Sanchez
The Professor and the Madman (2019)
as Dr. William Chester Minor
What Just Happened (2008)
as Sean Penn
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
as Emmet Ray
Animals in War (2025)
Actor
We're No Angels (1989)
as Jim
The Weight of Water (2001)
as Thomas Janes
Beaver Trilogy (2000)
as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
The People Speak (2009)
as Self
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)
as Self
Daddio (2024)
as Clark
Hugo Pool (1997)
as Strange Hitchhiker
She's So Lovely (1997)
as Eddie Quinn
Citizen Penn (2020)
as Himself
Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
as Sean Penn
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)
as Samuel Bicke
Shanghai Surprise (1986)
as Glendon Wasey
Asphalt City (2023)
as Gene Rutkovsky
Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002)
as Narrator
Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another (2026)
as Self
BRATS (2024)
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle (2016)
as Self
A Constant Forge (2000)
as Self
This So-Called Disaster (2003)
as Ray
Bukowski: Born Into This (2003)
as Self
Crackers (1984)
as Dillard
Searching for Debra Winger (2002)
as Self (uncredited)
The Human Experiment (2015)
as Narrator
The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
as Daulton Lee
Americans (2012)
as Commie
It's All About Love (2003)
as Marciello
Loved (1997)
as Man on the Hill (Michael)
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987)
as (voice)
Cruise Control (1992)
Actor
Hurlyburly (1998)
as Eddie
Gonzo Girl (2023)
Actor
The Killing of Randy Webster (1981)
as Don Fremont
Judgment in Berlin (1988)
as Guenther X
Cool Blue (1990)
as Phil the Plumber (uncredited)
Brando (2007)
as Self
Up at the Villa (2000)
as Rowley Flint
21 Grams: In Fragments (2004)
as Self
Hellinger's Law (1981)
as Bit Part (uncredited)
The Last Party (1993)
as Self
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride (2006)
as Self
Samuel Bayer Beyond the Frame (2026)
as Self
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read (2020)
as Pizza Guy
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011)
as Self
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick (2002)
as Self
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who (2008)
as Self
Mad Hannans (2017)
Actor
Beaver Trilogy Part IV (2015)
as Himself (archive footage)
In Thanks We Trust (2025)
as Self
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild (2004)
as Self(archive footage) (uncredited)
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey (2014)
as Self
The Beaver Kid 2 (1981)
as Groovin' Larry
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles (2014)
as Self
Superpower (2023)
as Self
Deflating the Elephant (2009)
as Narrator
Mystic River: From Page to Screen (2003)
as Self
Bruce Springsteen: The America Whisperer (2024)
as Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage)
Inside Björk (2003)
as Self
Sweet Micky for President (2015)
as Self
Madonna: The Name of the Game (1993)
as Self
Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique (2024)
as Self
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments (2004)
as Self
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story (2014)
as Himself
Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame (1994)
as Himself
Sound of Sun (2017)
as Man
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) (2003)
as Self
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface (2004)
as Self
Summerspell (1983)
as Buddy
War Made Easy (2007)
as Narrator (Voice)
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1999)
Actor
Haiti Untold (2012)
Actor