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.
The Interpreter
(Tobin Keller)
Mystic River
(Jimmy Markum)
21 Grams
(Paul Rivers)
Dogtown and Z-Boys
(Narrator)
Milk
(Harvey Milk)
Casualties of War
(Sgt. Tony Meserve)
U Turn
(Bobby Cooper)
Dead Man Walking
(Matthew Poncelet)
Licorice Pizza
(Jack Holden)
State of Grace
(Terry)
All the King's Men
(Willie Stark)
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
(Samuel Bicke)
Taps
(Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer)
Colors
(Danny McGavin)
The Game
(Conrad Van Orton)
I Am Sam
(Sam Dawson)
Before Night Falls
(Cuco Sanchez)
We're No Angels
(Jim)
Haiti Untold
I'm Still Here
(Sean Penn (uncredited))
Carlito's Way
(David Kleinfeld)
Sweet Micky for President
(Self)
Hurlyburly
(Eddie)
The Thin Red Line
(1st Sgt. Edward Welsh)
What Just Happened
(Self)
The Tree of Life
(Jack)
Hugo Pool
(Strange Hitchhiker)
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
(Self)
It's All About Love
(Marciello)
The Falcon and the Snowman
(Daulton Lee)
The People Speak
(Self)
Sweet and Lowdown
(Emmet Ray)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
(Jeff Spicoli)
The Weight of Water
(Thomas Janes)
21 Grams: In Fragments
(Self)
Bad Boys
(Mick O'Brien)
At Close Range
(Bradford "Brad" Whitewood Jr.)
Searching for Debra Winger
(Self (uncredited))
The Beaver Trilogy
("Groovin' Larry" Huff)
Fair Game
(Joseph Wilson)
She's So Lovely
(Eddie Quinn)
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
(Self)
Racing with the Moon
(Henry 'Hopper' Nash)
Up at the Villa
(Rowley Flint)
Judgment in Berlin
(Guenther X)
Woody Allen: A Documentary
(Self)
Gangster Squad
(Mickey Cohen)
This Must Be the Place
(Cheyenne)
War Through the Eyes of Animals
Loved
(Man on the Hill (Michael))
Shanghai Surprise
(Glendon Wasey)
Crackers
(Dillard)
Superpower
(Self)
The Killing of Randy Webster
(Don Fremont)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
(Sean O'Connell)
Gonzo Girl
Summerspell
(Buddy)
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
(Self)
Cruise Control
The Human Experiment
(Narrator)
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
(Self)
The Gunman
(Jim Terrier)
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
(Self)
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story
(Himself)
The Battle of Baktan Cross
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
(Self)
The Last Party
(Self)
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
(Self)
The Beaver Kid 2
(Groovin' Larry)
Inside Björk
(Self)
The Angry Birds Movie
(Terence (voice))
Risky Business
(Cameo (uncredited))
BRATS
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Pauly Shore Is Dead
(Sean Penn)
Bruce Springsteen, le chanteur qui murmurait à l'oreille de l'Amérique
(Himself (archive) - director, writer)
Bukowski: Born Into This
(Self)
The Professor and the Madman
(Dr. William Chester Minor)
Sound of Sun
(Man)
Brando
(Self)
This So-Called Disaster: Sam Shepard Directs "The Late Henry Moss"
(Ray)
Being John Malkovich
(Sean Penn (uncredited))
Hellinger's Law
(Bit Part (uncredited))
Cool Blue
(Phil the Plumber (uncredited))
Americans
(Commie)
Witch Hunt
(Himself (Narrator))
A Constant Forge
(Self)
Mad Hannans
Deflating the Elephant
(Narrator)
Beaver Trilogy Part IV
(Himself (archive footage))
Madonna: The Name of the Game
(Self)
Flag Day
(John Vogel)
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
((voice))
Citizen Penn
(Himself)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read
(Pizza Guy)
Charles Bronson: The Spirit of Masculinity
(Self (archive footage))
Asphalt City
(Gene Rutkovsky)
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who
(Self)
Friends: The Reunion
((archive footage))
Daddio
(Clark)
Val
(Self (archive footage))
Inside the Actors Studio
(Self)
Little House on the Prairie
Friends
(Eric)
Viva La Bam
Two and a Half Men
(Himself)
The Early Show
(Self)
Celebrities Uncensored
(Self)
VH1 Rock Honors
Iconoclasts
(Self)
Where Are They Now?
(Self)
The Oscars
(Self)
Saturday Night Live
(Self - Host)
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis
(Self)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
(Self)
The View
The First
(Tom Haggerty)
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
(Self)
The Reichen Show
(Self)
Saturday Night Live
(Self - Cameo (uncredited))
Lights Out with David Spade
(Self)
The Graham Norton Show
(Self)
Family Guy
(Sean Penn (voice))
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
Real Time with Bill Maher
(Self)
Curb Your Enthusiasm
(Sean Penn)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
(Self)
Gaslit
(John Mitchell)
aspekte
(Self)
Brando: The Documentary
(Self)
kid 90
(Executive Producer)
11’09”01—September 11
(Director)
Candles
(Set Decoration)
Into the Wild
(Screenplay)
Into the Wild
(Director)
The Pledge
(Producer)
The Pledge
(Director)
The Indian Runner
(Screenplay)
The Indian Runner
(Director)
The Crossing Guard
(Writer)
The Crossing Guard
(Producer)
The Crossing Guard
(Director)
The Last Face
(Director)
The Human Experiment
(Executive Producer)
Americans
(Story)
The Gunman
(Screenplay)
The Gunman
(Producer)
Superpower
(Director)
Where the Wild Things Are
(Thanks)
She's So Lovely
(Executive Producer)
Untitled Jamal Khashoggi Project
(Director)
Untitled Jamal Khashoggi Project
(Producer)
Flag Day
(Director)
Flag Day
(Producer)
11’09”01—September 11
(Writer)
Loved
(Producer)
Into the Wild
(Producer)
Asphalt City
(Producer)
September 5
(Producer)
C*A*U*G*H*T
(Executive Producer)