Sean Penn
American actor and filmmaker celebrated for his intense performances, three Academy Awards, and decades of influential work in Hollywood.
Sean Penn - Personal Information
- Name: Sean Penn
- Date of Birth: August 17, 1960
- Place of Birth: Santa Monica, California, USA
- Gender: Male
- Job Title: Actor
- Crew Jobs: Director, Producer, Executive Producer, Screenplay, Writer
Biography
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.
Filmography
A selection of Sean Penn's most recent screen appearances and projects.
- Variety & CNN Actors on Actors (TV - 2025) as Self
- Animals in War (2025)
- In Thanks We Trust (2025) as Self
- One Battle After Another (2025) as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw
- aka Charlie Sheen (TV - 2025) as Self
- Everybody's Live with John Mulaney (TV - 2025) as Self - Actor and Founder of CORE
- Becoming Madonna (2024) as Self (archive footage)
- Bruce Springsteen – The America whisperer (2024) as Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage)
- Daddio (2024) as Clark
- BRATS (2024) as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
External Links
Explore authoritative profiles and databases for Sean Penn.