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Sean Penn

Actor

Sean Penn

Born August 17, 1960 in Santa Monica, California, USA65 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.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Sean Penn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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The best way into Sean Penn's work
Mystic River posterFirst watchMystic River20037.7as Jimmy MarkumThe lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach

Filmography

65 films as actor
  1. TBASnake Island
  2. 2025Animals in War
  3. 2025One Battle After AnotherCol. Steven J. Lockjaw
  4. 2024DaddioClark
  5. 2024Asphalt CityGene Rutkovsky
  6. 2023Gonzo Girl
  7. 2021Licorice PizzaJack Holden
  8. 2021Flag DayJohn Vogel
  9. 2020Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table ReadPizza Guy
  10. 2019The Professor and the MadmanDr. William Chester Minor
  11. 2017Sound of SunMan
  12. 2016The Angry Birds MovieTerence (voice)
  13. 2015The GunmanJim Terrier
  14. 2013The Secret Life of Walter MittySean O'Connell
  15. 2013Gangster SquadMickey Cohen
  16. 2012AmericansCommie
  17. 2011This Must Be the PlaceCheyenne
  18. 2011The Tree of LifeJack
  19. 2010I'm Still HereSean Penn (uncredited)
  20. 2010Fair GameJoseph Wilson
  21. 2009Deflating the ElephantNarrator
  22. 2008MilkHarvey Milk
  23. 2008What Just HappenedSean Penn
  24. 2006All the King's MenWillie Stark
  25. 2005The InterpreterTobin Keller
  26. 2004The Assassination of Richard NixonSamuel Bicke
  27. 200321 GramsPaul Rivers
  28. 2003Mystic RiverJimmy Markum
  29. 2003Pauly Shore Is DeadSean Penn
  30. 2003It's All About LoveMarciello
  31. 2001I Am SamSam Dawson
  32. 2001The Weight of WaterThomas Janes
  33. 2000Before Night FallsCuco Sanchez
  34. 2000Up at the VillaRowley Flint
  35. 1999Sweet and LowdownEmmet Ray
  36. 1999Being John MalkovichSean Penn (uncredited)
  37. 1998HurlyburlyEddie
  38. 1998The Thin Red Line1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
  39. 1997Hugo PoolStrange Hitchhiker
  40. 1997LovedMan on the Hill (Michael)
  41. 1997U TurnBobby Cooper
  42. 1997The GameConrad Van Orton
  43. 1997She's So LovelyEddie Quinn
  44. 1995Dead Man WalkingMatthew Poncelet
  45. 1993Carlito's WayDavid Kleinfeld
  46. 1992Cruise Control
  47. 1990State of GraceTerry
  48. 1990Cool BluePhil the Plumber (uncredited)
  49. 1989Casualties of WarSgt. Tony Meserve
  50. 1989We're No AngelsJim
  51. 1988Judgment in BerlinGuenther X
  52. 1988ColorsDanny McGavin
  53. 1986Shanghai SurpriseGlendon Wasey
  54. 1986At Close RangeBradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
  55. 1985The Falcon and the SnowmanDaulton Lee
  56. 1984Racing with the MoonHenry 'Hopper' Nash
  57. 1984CrackersDillard
  58. 1983Risky BusinessPassenger in Car (uncredited)
  59. 1983SummerspellBuddy
  60. 1983Bad BoysMick O'Brien
  61. 1982Fast Times at Ridgemont HighJeff Spicoli
  62. 1981TapsCadet Captain Alex Dwyer
  63. 1981The Beaver Kid 2Groovin' Larry
  64. 1981The Killing of Randy WebsterDon Fremont
  65. 1981Hellinger's LawBit Part (uncredited)