Sean Penn
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 17, 1960
- Birthplace
- Santa Monica, California, USA
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.
Filmography
- Untitled Sean Penn Film
Untitled Sean Penn Film TBA
Director, Writer, Producer
The Gun on Second Street TBA
Executive Producer
- Untitled Sean Penn Film
Untitled Sean Penn Film TBA
Director
- Untitled Jamal Khashoggi Project
Untitled Jamal Khashoggi Project TBA
Producer, Director
Candles TBA
Set Decoration
- Snake Island
Snake Island TBA
Actor
The Angry Birds Movie 3 2026
as Terence (voice)
Black Sunflowers 2026
Executive Producer
Red Rue Express 2026
as himself
Samuel Bayer Beyond the Frame 2026
as Self
Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another 2026
as Self
Animals in War 2025
Actor
In Thanks We Trust 2025
as Self
One Battle After Another 2025
as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw
Words of War 2025
Executive Producer
Manas 2025
Executive Producer
Becoming Madonna 2024
as Self (archive footage)
September 5 2024
Producer
Bruce Springsteen: The America Whisperer 2024
as Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage)
Daddio 2024
as Clark
BRATS 2024
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique 2024
as Self
Asphalt City 2024
as Gene Rutkovsky, Producer
Gonzo Girl 2023
Actor
Superpower 2023
as Self, Director
Licorice Pizza 2021
as Jack Holden
Flag Day 2021
as John Vogel, Director, Producer
Val 2021
as Self (archive)
kid 90 2021
Executive Producer
Charles Bronson: The Spirit of Masculinity 2020
as Self
Citizen Penn 2020
as Self
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read 2020
as Pizza Guy
The Professor and the Madman 2019
as Dr. William Chester Minor
Sound of Sun 2017
as Man
The Last Face 2017
Director
- Mad Hannans
Mad Hannans 2017
Actor
The Angry Birds Movie 2016
as Terence (voice)
El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle 2016
as Self
The Human Experiment 2015
as Narrator, Executive Producer
The Gunman 2015
as Jim Terrier, Screenplay, Producer
Beaver Trilogy Part IV 2015
as Self (archive footage)
Sweet Micky for President 2015
as Self
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story 2014
as Self
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
Gangster Squad 2013
as Mickey Cohen
Americans 2012
as Commie, Story
Haiti Untold 2012
Actor
Woody Allen: A Documentary 2011
as Self
This Must Be the Place 2011
as Cheyenne
The Tree of Life 2011
as Jack
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune 2011
as Self
I'm Still Here 2010
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Fair Game 2010
as Joseph Wilson
The People Speak 2009
as Self
Where the Wild Things Are 2009
Thanks
Deflating the Elephant 2009
as Narrator
Milk 2008
as Harvey Milk
What Just Happened 2008
as Sean Penn
Witch Hunt 2008
as Self (Narrator)
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who 2008
as Self
Into the Wild 2007
Director, Screenplay, Producer
War Made Easy 2007
as Narrator (Voice)
Brando 2007
as Self
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride 2006
as Self
All the King's Men 2006
as Willie Stark
The Interpreter 2005
as Tobin Keller
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing 2004
as Self
- Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild 2004
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface 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
21 Grams 2003
as Paul Rivers
- Mystic River: From Page to Screen
Mystic River: From Page to Screen 2003
as Self
Mystic River 2003
as Jimmy Markum
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 2003
as Ray
September 11 2002
Director, Writer
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
The Pledge 2001
Producer, Director
A Constant Forge 2000
as Self
Before Night Falls 2000
as Cuco Sanchez
Beaver Trilogy 2000
as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
Up at the Villa 2000
as Rowley Flint
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1999
Actor
Sweet and Lowdown 1999
as Emmet Ray
Being John Malkovich 1999
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
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), Producer
U Turn 1997
as Bobby Cooper
The Game 1997
as Conrad Van Orton
She's So Lovely 1997
as Eddie Quinn, Executive Producer
Dead Man Walking 1995
as Matthew Poncelet
The Crossing Guard 1995
Writer, Producer, Director
Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame 1994
as Self
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
Actor
The Indian Runner 1991
Director, Screenplay
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 Passenger in Car (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
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)
Credits from TMDB.