Sean Penn

Sean Justin Penn, born August 17, 1960, is an American actor and filmmaker recognized for his intense leading man roles in film. His accolades include three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a British Academy Film Award, alongside nominations for an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. He was honored with the Honorary César in 2015 and received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2022.

Penn was born in Santa Monica, California, to actor and director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan. His older brother is musician Michael Penn, and his younger brother was actor Chris Penn, who died in 2006. Raised in a secular home in Malibu, California, Penn attended Malibu Park Junior High School and Santa Monica High School. As a youth, he began making short films with childhood friends, including actors Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen.

Penn made an early television appearance as an extra in a 1974 episode of Little House on the Prairie. He launched his feature film career with the action drama Taps in 1981, followed by his Broadway debut in Heartland that same year. He achieved widespread attention playing Jeff Spicoli in the hit comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982 and earned praise for his role in Bad Boys in 1983. He returned to Broadway in Slab Boys in 1983 and starred in films such as The Falcon and the Snowman in 1985 and At Close Range in 1986.

In 1991, Penn made his film directorial debut with the crime drama The Indian Runner, having previously paused acting to focus on directing. He returned to acting in Carlito's Way in 1993, earning a Golden Globe nomination. He earned his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for Dead Man Walking in 1995. Penn won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for She's So Lovely in 1997 and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for Hurlyburly in 1998. He also received an Oscar nomination for Sweet and Lowdown in 1999.

Penn earned a third Oscar nomination for I Am Sam in 2001. He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as a grieving father in Mystic River in 2003, which also garnered him a Golden Globe Award. Penn later directed the acclaimed biographical survival film Into the Wild in 2007. He won his second Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Harvey Milk in the biographical drama Milk in 2008.

His subsequent work includes roles in Fair Game in 2010, The Tree of Life in 2011, Licorice Pizza in 2021, and Daddio in 2023. Penn also directed films like The Last Face and Flag Day. Penn won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another in 2025. On television, he starred in the Hulu series The First in 2018 and portrayed John N. Mitchell in the Starz miniseries Gaslit in 2022.

Beyond his work in entertainment, Penn published the novel Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff in 2018. He has also been active in political and social causes, including criticizing the George W. Bush administration, engaging with leaders in Cuba and Venezuela, offering humanitarian relief following Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Russian-Ukrainian war.