Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the biopic Milk (2008).
Penn began his acting career in television, with a brief appearance in episode 112 of Little House on the Prairie on December 4, 1974, directed by his father Leo Penn. Following his film debut in the drama Taps (1981), and a diverse range of film roles in the 1980s, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and Bad Boys (1983), Penn garnered critical attention for his roles in the crime dramas At Close Range (1986), State of Grace (1990), and Carlito's Way (1993). He became known as a prominent leading actor with the drama Dead Man Walking (1995), for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination and the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival. Penn received another two Oscar nominations for Woody Allen's comedy-drama Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and the drama I Am Sam (2001), before winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for Mystic River and a second one in 2008 for Milk. He has also won a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for the Nick Cassavetes-directed She's So Lovely (1997), and two Volpi Cups for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for the indie film Hurlyburly (1998) and the drama 21 Grams (2003).
Penn made his feature film directorial debut with The Indian Runner (1991), followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard (1995) and the mystery film The Pledge (2001); all three were critically well received. Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 11'09"01 September 11 (2002), a compilation film made in response to the September 11 attacks. His fourth feature film, the biographical drama survival movie Into the Wild (2007), garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations.
In addition to his film work, Penn has engaged in political and social activism, including 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.
Acted in
The Battle of Baktan Cross
2025
Bruce Springsteen, le chanteur qui murmurait à l'oreille de l'Amérique
2024
as Himself (archive) - director, writer
Daddio
2024
as Clark
BRATS
2024
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Asphalt City
2024
as Gene Rutkovsky
Gonzo Girl
2023
Superpower
2023
as Self
Gaslit
2022
as John Mitchell
Licorice Pizza
2021
as Jack Holden
Flag Day
2021
as John Vogel
Val
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Friends: The Reunion
2021
as (archive footage)
Charles Bronson: The Spirit of Masculinity
2020
as Self (archive footage)
Citizen Penn
2020
as Himself
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read
2020
as Pizza Guy
The Professor and the Madman
2019
as Dr. William Chester Minor
The First
2018
as Tom Haggerty
Sound of Sun
2017
as Man
Mad Hannans
2017
The Angry Birds Movie
2016
as Terence (voice)
The Gunman
2015
as Jim Terrier
Sweet Micky for President
2015
as Self
Beaver Trilogy Part IV
2015
as Himself (archive footage)
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story
2014
as Himself
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
2014
as Self
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
2014
as Self
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2013
as Sean O'Connell
The Human Experiment
2013
as Narrator
Gangster Squad
2013
as Mickey Cohen
Americans
2012
as Commie
Haiti Untold
2012
Woody Allen: A Documentary
2011
as Self
This Must Be the Place
2011
as Cheyenne
The Tree of Life
2011
as Jack
I'm Still Here
2010
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Fair Game
2010
as Joseph Wilson
The People Speak
2009
as Self
Deflating the Elephant
2009
as Narrator
Milk
2008
as Harvey Milk
What Just Happened
2008
as Self
Witch Hunt
2008
as Himself (Narrator)
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who
2008
as Self
Brando
2007
as Self
Brando: The Documentary
2007
as Self
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
2006
as Self
All the King's Men
2006
as Willie Stark
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
2006
as Self
Iconoclasts
2005
as Self
The Interpreter
2005
as Tobin Keller
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
2004
as Self
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
2004
as Samuel Bicke
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
2004
as Self
21 Grams: In Fragments
2004
as Self
Viva La Bam
2003
Mystic River
2003
as Jimmy Markum
Two and a Half Men
2003
as Himself
21 Grams
2003
as Paul Rivers
Inside Björk
2003
as Self
Pauly Shore Is Dead
2003
as Sean Penn
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
2003
as Self
Bukowski: Born Into This
2003
as Self
It's All About Love
2003
as Marciello
This So-Called Disaster: Sam Shepard Directs "The Late Henry Moss"
2003
as Ray
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
2002
as Self
Searching for Debra Winger
2002
as Self (uncredited)
Dogtown and Z-Boys
2002
as Narrator
I Am Sam
2001
as Sam Dawson
The Weight of Water
2001
as Thomas Janes
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2000
as Sean Penn
Before Night Falls
2000
as Cuco Sanchez
The Beaver Trilogy
2000
as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
Up at the Villa
2000
as Rowley Flint
A Constant Forge
2000
as Self
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1999
Sweet and Lowdown
1999
as Emmet Ray
Being John Malkovich
1999
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Where Are They Now?
1999
as Self
Family Guy
1999
as Sean Penn (voice)
Hurlyburly
1998
as Eddie
The Thin Red Line
1998
as 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
Hugo Pool
1997
as Strange Hitchhiker
Loved
1997
as Man on the Hill (Michael)
U Turn
1997
as Bobby Cooper
The Game
1997
as Conrad Van Orton
She's So Lovely
1997
as Eddie Quinn
Dead Man Walking
1995
as Matthew Poncelet
Friends
1994
as Eric
Carlito's Way
1993
as David Kleinfeld
The Last Party
1993
as Self
Madonna: The Name of the Game
1993
as Self
Cruise Control
1992
State of Grace
1990
as Terry
Cool Blue
1990
as Phil the Plumber (uncredited)
Casualties of War
1989
as Sgt. Tony Meserve
We're No Angels
1989
as Jim
Judgment in Berlin
1988
as Guenther X
Colors
1988
as Danny McGavin
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
1987
as (voice)
Shanghai Surprise
1986
as Glendon Wasey
At Close Range
1986
as Bradford "Brad" Whitewood Jr.
The Falcon and the Snowman
1985
as Daulton Lee
Racing with the Moon
1984
as Henry 'Hopper' Nash
Crackers
1984
as Dillard
Risky Business
1983
as Cameo (uncredited)
Summerspell
1983
as Buddy
Bad Boys
1983
as Mick O'Brien
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1982
as Jeff Spicoli
Taps
1981
as Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
The Beaver Kid 2
1981
as Groovin' Larry
The Killing of Randy Webster
1981
as Don Fremont
Hellinger's Law
1981
as Bit Part (uncredited)
Little House on the Prairie
1974
The Oscars
1953
as Self
