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Sean Penn

Acting 65 years old Santa Monica, California, USA ★ 4.1
Born: August 17, 1960

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.

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

External Links

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Known For

One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another Col. Steven J. Lockjaw 2025
The Angry Birds Movie
The Angry Birds Movie Terence (voice) 2016
Mystic River
Mystic River Jimmy Markum 2003
The Game
The Game Conrad Van Orton 1997
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Sean O'Connell 2013

Jimmy's Seen (3)

September 5
September 5 Producer 2024
Daddio
Daddio Clark 2024
Licorice Pizza
Licorice Pizza Jack Holden 2021

Filmography

Acting Credits (145)

Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors Self 2025
Animals in War
Animals in War 2025
In Thanks We Trust
In Thanks We Trust Self 2025
One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another Col. Steven J. Lockjaw 2025
aka Charlie Sheen
aka Charlie Sheen Self 2025
Everybody's Live with John Mulaney
Everybody's Live with John Mulaney Self - Actor and Founder of CORE 2025
Becoming Madonna
Becoming Madonna Self (archive footage) 2024
Bruce Springsteen – The America whisperer
Bruce Springsteen – The America whisperer Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage) 2024
Daddio
Daddio Clark 2024
BRATS
BRATS Self (archive footage) (uncredited) 2024
Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique
Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique Self 2024
Asphalt City
Asphalt City Gene Rutkovsky 2024
Gonzo Girl
Gonzo Girl 2023
Superpower
Superpower Self 2023
Gaslit
Gaslit John Mitchell 2022
Licorice Pizza
Licorice Pizza Jack Holden 2021
Flag Day
Flag Day John Vogel 2021
Citizen Penn
Citizen Penn Himself 2020
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read Pizza Guy 2020
Lights Out with David Spade
Lights Out with David Spade Self 2019
The Professor and the Madman
The Professor and the Madman Dr. William Chester Minor 2019
The First
The First Tom Haggerty 2018
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover 2018
Sound of Sun
Sound of Sun Man 2017
Mad Hannans
Mad Hannans 2017
The Angry Birds Movie
The Angry Birds Movie Terence (voice) 2016
El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle
El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle Self 2016
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Self 2015
The Human Experiment
The Human Experiment Narrator 2015
The Gunman
The Gunman Jim Terrier 2015
Sweet Micky for President
Sweet Micky for President Self 2015
Beaver Trilogy Part IV
Beaver Trilogy Part IV Himself (archive footage) 2015
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story Himself 2014
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey Self 2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Self - Guest 2014
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles Self 2014
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Sean O'Connell 2013
Gangster Squad
Gangster Squad Mickey Cohen 2013
Americans
Americans Commie 2012
Haiti Untold
Haiti Untold 2012
Woody Allen: A Documentary
Woody Allen: A Documentary Self 2011
This Must Be the Place
This Must Be the Place Cheyenne 2011
The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life Jack 2011
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune Self 2011
I'm Still Here
I'm Still Here Sean Penn (uncredited) 2010
Fair Game
Fair Game Joseph Wilson 2010
The People Speak
The People Speak Self 2009
Deflating the Elephant
Deflating the Elephant Narrator 2009
Milk
Milk Harvey Milk 2008
What Just Happened
What Just Happened Sean Penn 2008
Witch Hunt
Witch Hunt Himself (Narrator) 2008
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who Self 2008
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis Self 2008
War Made Easy
War Made Easy Narrator (Voice) 2007
Brando
Brando Self 2007
Brando: The Documentary
Brando: The Documentary Self 2007
The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show Self 2007
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride Self 2006
All the King's Men
All the King's Men Willie Stark 2006
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts Self 2006
VH1 Rock Honors
VH1 Rock Honors 2006
Iconoclasts
Iconoclasts Self 2005
The Reichen Show
The Reichen Show Self 2005
The Interpreter
The Interpreter Tobin Keller 2005
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing Self 2004
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild Self(archive footage) (uncredited) 2004
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface Self 2004
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Assassination of Richard Nixon Samuel Bicke 2004
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments Self 2004
21 Grams: In Fragments
21 Grams: In Fragments Self 2004
Mystic River: From Page to Screen
Mystic River: From Page to Screen Self 2003
Viva La Bam
Viva La Bam 2003
Mystic River
Mystic River Jimmy Markum 2003
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men Sean Penn 2003
21 Grams
21 Grams Paul Rivers 2003
Inside Björk
Inside Björk Self 2003
Celebrities Uncensored
Celebrities Uncensored Self 2003
Pauly Shore Is Dead
Pauly Shore Is Dead Sean Penn 2003
Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher Self 2003
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) Self 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Self 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Self - Guest 2003
Bukowski: Born Into This
Bukowski: Born Into This Self 2003
It's All About Love
It's All About Love Marciello 2003
This So-Called Disaster
This So-Called Disaster Ray 2003
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick Self 2002
Searching for Debra Winger
Searching for Debra Winger Self (uncredited) 2002
Dogtown and Z-Boys
Dogtown and Z-Boys Narrator 2002
I Am Sam
I Am Sam Sam Dawson 2001
The Weight of Water
The Weight of Water Thomas Janes 2001
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm Sean Penn 2000
A Constant Forge
A Constant Forge Self 2000
Before Night Falls
Before Night Falls Cuco Sanchez 2000
Beaver Trilogy
Beaver Trilogy "Groovin' Larry" Huff 2000
Up at the Villa
Up at the Villa Rowley Flint 2000
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1999
Sweet and Lowdown
Sweet and Lowdown Emmet Ray 1999
The Early Show
The Early Show Self 1999
Being John Malkovich
Being John Malkovich Sean Penn (uncredited) 1999
Where Are They Now?
Where Are They Now? Self 1999
Family Guy
Family Guy Sean Penn (voice) 1999
Hurlyburly
Hurlyburly Eddie 1998
The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh 1998
Hugo Pool
Hugo Pool Strange Hitchhiker 1997
Loved
Loved Man on the Hill (Michael) 1997
U Turn
U Turn Bobby Cooper 1997
The Game
The Game Conrad Van Orton 1997
She's So Lovely
She's So Lovely Eddie Quinn 1997
The View
The View Self 1997
Dead Man Walking
Dead Man Walking Matthew Poncelet 1995
Friends
Friends Eric 1994
Inside the Actors Studio
Inside the Actors Studio Self 1994
Carlito's Way
Carlito's Way David Kleinfeld 1993
The Last Party
The Last Party Self 1993
Madonna: The Name of the Game
Madonna: The Name of the Game Self 1993
Cruise Control
Cruise Control 1992
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show Sean Penn 1992
State of Grace
State of Grace Terry 1990
Cool Blue
Cool Blue Phil the Plumber (uncredited) 1990
Casualties of War
Casualties of War Sgt. Tony Meserve 1989
We're No Angels
We're No Angels Jim 1989
Judgment in Berlin
Judgment in Berlin Guenther X 1988
Colors
Colors Danny McGavin 1988
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (voice) 1987
Shanghai Surprise
Shanghai Surprise Glendon Wasey 1986
At Close Range
At Close Range Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr. 1986
The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman Daulton Lee 1985
Racing with the Moon
Racing with the Moon Henry 'Hopper' Nash 1984
Crackers
Crackers Dillard 1984
Risky Business
Risky Business Passenger in Car (uncredited) 1983
Summerspell
Summerspell Buddy 1983
Bad Boys
Bad Boys Mick O'Brien 1983
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High Jeff Spicoli 1982
Taps
Taps Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer 1981
The Beaver Kid 2
The Beaver Kid 2 Groovin' Larry 1981
The Killing of Randy Webster
The Killing of Randy Webster Don Fremont 1981
Hellinger's Law
Hellinger's Law Bit Part (uncredited) 1981
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live Self - Host 1975
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live Self (uncredited) 1975
Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie Boy (uncredited) 1974
aspekte
aspekte Self 1965
The Oscars
The Oscars Self 1953
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Presenter 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards Self - Nominee 1944
Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame
Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame Himself

Directing Credits (10)

Writing Credits (6)

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