
Actor
Sean Penn
Born August 17, 1960 in Santa Monica, California, USA
65 films
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.
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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.
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The best way into Sean Penn's work
First watchMystic River20037.7as Jimmy MarkumThe lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.View filmEssential films
Ranked by acclaim and reachFilmography
65 films as actor- TBASnake Island
- 2025Animals in War
- 2025One Battle After AnotherCol. Steven J. Lockjaw
- 2024DaddioClark
- 2024Asphalt CityGene Rutkovsky
- 2023Gonzo Girl
- 2021Licorice PizzaJack Holden
- 2021Flag DayJohn Vogel
- 2020Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table ReadPizza Guy
- 2019The Professor and the MadmanDr. William Chester Minor
- 2017Sound of SunMan
- 2016The Angry Birds MovieTerence (voice)
- 2015The GunmanJim Terrier
- 2013The Secret Life of Walter MittySean O'Connell
- 2013Gangster SquadMickey Cohen
- 2012AmericansCommie
- 2011This Must Be the PlaceCheyenne
- 2011The Tree of LifeJack
- 2010I'm Still HereSean Penn (uncredited)
- 2010Fair GameJoseph Wilson
- 2009Deflating the ElephantNarrator
- 2008MilkHarvey Milk
- 2008What Just HappenedSean Penn
- 2006All the King's MenWillie Stark
- 2005The InterpreterTobin Keller
- 2004The Assassination of Richard NixonSamuel Bicke
- 200321 GramsPaul Rivers
- 2003Mystic RiverJimmy Markum
- 2003Pauly Shore Is DeadSean Penn
- 2003It's All About LoveMarciello
- 2001I Am SamSam Dawson
- 2001The Weight of WaterThomas Janes
- 2000Before Night FallsCuco Sanchez
- 2000Up at the VillaRowley Flint
- 1999Sweet and LowdownEmmet Ray
- 1999Being John MalkovichSean Penn (uncredited)
- 1998HurlyburlyEddie
- 1998The Thin Red Line1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
- 1997Hugo PoolStrange Hitchhiker
- 1997LovedMan on the Hill (Michael)
- 1997U TurnBobby Cooper
- 1997The GameConrad Van Orton
- 1997She's So LovelyEddie Quinn
- 1995Dead Man WalkingMatthew Poncelet
- 1993Carlito's WayDavid Kleinfeld
- 1992Cruise Control
- 1990State of GraceTerry
- 1990Cool BluePhil the Plumber (uncredited)
- 1989Casualties of WarSgt. Tony Meserve
- 1989We're No AngelsJim
- 1988Judgment in BerlinGuenther X
- 1988ColorsDanny McGavin
- 1986Shanghai SurpriseGlendon Wasey
- 1986At Close RangeBradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
- 1985The Falcon and the SnowmanDaulton Lee
- 1984Racing with the MoonHenry 'Hopper' Nash
- 1984CrackersDillard
- 1983Risky BusinessPassenger in Car (uncredited)
- 1983SummerspellBuddy
- 1983Bad BoysMick O'Brien
- 1982Fast Times at Ridgemont HighJeff Spicoli
- 1981TapsCadet Captain Alex Dwyer
- 1981The Beaver Kid 2Groovin' Larry
- 1981The Killing of Randy WebsterDon Fremont
- 1981Hellinger's LawBit Part (uncredited)







