Sean Justin Penn is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. Over his career, he has earned numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for three BAFTA Film Awards. Penn received an Honorary César in 2015.
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 later won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice for playing a grieving father in Mystic River (2003) and Harvey Milk in Milk (2008). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Dead Man Walking (1995), Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and I Am Sam (2001). Penn's other credits include Casualties of War (1989), State of Grace (1990), Carlito's Way (1993), She's So Lovely (1997), 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 films 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).
In addition to his film work, Penn has also engaged in political and social activism. This includes his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the presidents of Cuba and Venezuela, and his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, as well as his support for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amidst the Russian-Ukrainian War.
