Sean Penn Biography

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director, also known for his left-wing political and social activism (including humanitarian work). He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his roles in Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008), as well as the recipient of a Golden Globe Award for the former and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the latter.

Penn began his acting career in television with a brief appearance in a 1974 episode of Little House on the Prairie, directed by his father Leo Penn. Following his film debut in 1981's Taps and a diverse range of film roles in the 1980s, Penn emerged as a prominent leading actor with the 1995 drama film Dead Man Walking, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination and the Best Actor Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Penn received another two Oscar nominations for Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and 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 of the Cannes Film Festival for She's So Lovely (1997), and two Best Actor Awards at the Venice Film Festival for Hurlyburly (1998) and 21 Grams (2003).

Penn made his feature film directorial debut with 1991's The Indian Runner, followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard (1995) and the mystery film The Pledge (2001). In 2002, Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 11'09"01 September 11, a compilation film made in response to the September 11 attacks. His fourth feature film, Into the Wild (2007), garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations.

In addition to his film work, Penn is known for his political and social activism, most notably his criticism of the George W. Bush administration, his contact with the Presidents of Venezuela and Cuba, and his humanitarian work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Penn also attracted media attention for his previous marriages to pop singer Madonna and actress Robin Wright.

Early life

Penn was born in Los Angeles County, California, the middle son of actor and director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci). His older brother is musician Michael Penn. His younger brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Lithuania and Russia, while his mother is a Catholic of Italian and Irish descent. Penn was raised in a secular home. He attended Santa Monica High School and began making short films with some of his childhood friends, including actors Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, who lived near his home.

Career

Acting

Penn appeared in a 1974 episode of the Little House on the Prairie television series as a then blond-haired extra when his father, Leo, directed some of the episodes.

Penn launched his film career with the 1981 action-drama Taps, where he played a key role, as a military high school cadet, opposite protagonist Timothy Hutton. Tom Cruise also made one of his first film appearances, as another cadet. A year later, Penn appeared in the hit comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in the role of surfer-stoner Jeff Spicoli, with his character helping popularize the word "dude" in popular culture. In 1983, Penn appeared as Mick O'Brien, a troubled youth, in the drama Bad Boys. The role earned Penn favorable reviews and jump-started his career as a serious actor.

In 1985, Penn played Andrew Daulton Lee in the film The Falcon and the Snowman, which closely followed an actual criminal case. Lee was a former drug dealer by trade, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and originally sentenced to life in prison, later being paroled in 1998. Penn later hired Lee as his personal assistant, partly because he wanted to reward Lee for allowing him to play Lee in the film; also, he was a firm believer in rehabilitation and thought Andrew Lee should be successfully reintegrated into society, since he was a free man again.

In 1986, he starred in the drama At Close Range, opposite Christopher Walken. The film featured his then-wife Madonna's single "Live to Tell". The music video for the song, which featured clips from the film, played heavily on MTV and helped promote the film. Penn stopped acting for a few years in the early 1990s, having been dissatisfied with the industry, and focused on making his directing debut.

Penn, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five times, has won the award twice. The Academy first recognized his work in nominating him for playing a racist murderer on death row in Tim Robbins' 1995 drama Dead Man Walking. Penn was nominated again for his comedic performance as an egotistical jazz guitarist in Woody Allen's 1999 release Sweet and Lowdown. He received his third nomination after portraying a mentally handicapped father in 2001's I am Sam. Penn finally won for his role in Clint Eastwood's 2003 Boston crime-drama Mystic River. In 2004, he played a disturbed man bent on killing the president in The Assassination of Richard Nixon. He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004.

In 2006, he portrayed populist governor Willie Stark (based on Huey Long) in an adaptation of the classic American novel All the King's Men, though the film was a critical and commercial failure. It was named by Forbes as the biggest flop in the last five years in 2010. Forbes wrote: "But along the way something went wrong. Reviews for the film were awful. Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote that the film had 'no center, no coherence, no soul and no shame'. Box office results weren't any better. The film earned just $9 million at the box office worldwide on a budget of $55 million. To put it another way, it failed to earn back 84% of its budget."

In November 2008, Penn earned rave reviews for his portrayal of real-life gay-rights icon and politician Harvey Milk in the biopic Milk and was nominated for best actor for the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards. The film also earned Penn his fifth nomination and second win for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2010 he starred as Joseph Wilson in Fair Game, a film adaptation of Valerie Plame's 2007 memoir. Penn co-starred with Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain in the drama The Tree of Life which won the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Directing

In 1991, Penn made his directorial debut with The Indian Runner, a film based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman", from the Nebraska album. He also directed music videos, such as Shania Twain's "Dance with the One That Brought You" and Lyle Lovett's "North Dakota" in 1993, and Peter Gabriel's "The Barry Williams Show" in 2002. He has since directed three more films, all of which were well received by critics: The Crossing Guard in 1995, The Pledge in 2001, and Into the Wild in 2007.

Personal life

Penn was engaged to actress Elizabeth McGovern, his co-star in 1984's Racing with the Moon. Penn's personal life began to attract media attention when he married pop singer Madonna in 1985. The two starred in the panned and much-derided Shanghai Surprise, directed by Jim Goddard, and Madonna dedicated her third studio album True Blue to Penn, referring to him in the liner notes as "the coolest guy in the universe". The relationship was marred by violent outbursts against the press, including one incident for which he was arrested for assaulting a photographer on a film set; Penn was sentenced to 60 days in jail in mid-1987, of which he served 33 days. It is also alleged that when Penn discovered the paparazzo in his hotel room, he hung him by his ankles from the ninth-floor balcony. In June 1987, Madonna went to the Cedars Sinai hospital for an X-ray after Penn hit her across the head with a baseball bat. Later in the marriage, Penn was charged with felony domestic assault, a charge for which he pleaded to a misdemeanor. Penn and Madonna divorced in 1989.

He soon began a relationship with actress Robin Wright, and their first child " a daughter named Dylan Frances " was born in 1991. Their second child, a son whom they named Hopper Jack, was born in 1993. Penn and Wright married in 1996 and lived in Ross, California. The couple filed for divorce in December 2007, but reconciled several months later, requesting a court dismissal of their divorce case. In April 2009, Penn filed for legal separation, only to withdraw the case once again when the couple reconciled in May. On August 12, 2009, Wright Penn filed for divorce again. The couple's divorce was finalized on July 22, 2010, with the couple reaching a private agreement on child and spousal support, division of assets, and custody of Hopper, who was almost 17 at the time.

Political and social causes

Penn has been active in supporting several political and social causes. On June 10, 2005, Penn made a visit to Iran. Acting as a journalist on an assignment for the San Francisco Chronicle, he attended a Friday prayer at Tehran University. On January 7, 2006, Penn was a special guest at the Progressive Democrats of America, where he was joined by author and media critic Norman Solomon, Democratic congressional candidate Charles Brown, and activist Cindy Sheehan. The "Out of Iraq Forum", which took place in Sacramento, California, was organized to promote the anti-war movement calling for an end to the War in Iraq. In August 2008, Penn made an appearance at one of Ralph Nader's "Open the Debates" Super Rallies. He protested the political exclusion of Nader and other third parties. In October 2008, Penn traveled to Cuba, where he met with and interviewed President Raúl Castro. In February 2012, he stood beside Hugo Chávez while Venezuela supported the Syrian government during the 2011"2012 Syrian uprising.

Criticism of President Bush

On October 18, 2002, Penn placed a US$56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post asking then President George W. Bush to end a cycle of violence. It was written as an open letter and referred to the planned attack on Iraq and the War on Terror. In the letter, Penn also criticized the Bush administration for its "deconstruction of civil liberties" and its "simplistic and inflammatory view of good and evil." Penn visited Iraq briefly in December 2002. This advertisement was cited as a primary reason for the development of his relationship with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. In one of his televised speeches, Chávez used and read aloud an open letter Penn wrote to Bush. The letter condemned the Iraq War, called for Bush to be impeached, and also called Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "villainously and criminally obscene people.". In August 2007, Penn met with Chávez in Caracas for two hours, after which Chávez praised him for urging Americans to impeach Bush. Penn also visited a new film studio on the outskirts of Caracas, though he did not speak publicly.

On April 19, 2007, Penn appeared on The Colbert Report and had a "Meta-Free-Phor-All" versus Stephen Colbert that was judged by Robert Pinsky. This stemmed from some of Penn's criticisms of Bush. His exact quote was "We cower as you point your fingers telling us to support our troops. You and the smarmy pundits in your pocket" those who bathe in the moisture of your soiled and blood-soaked underwear" can take that noise and shove it." He won the contest with 10,000,000 points to Colbert's 1. On December 7, 2007, Penn said he supported Ohio Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich for U.S. President in 2008, and criticized Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Penn questioned whether Bush's twin daughters supported the war in Iraq.

Hurricane Katrina

In September 2005, Penn traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to aid Hurricane Katrina victims. He was physically involved in rescuing people, although there was criticism that his involvement was a PR stunt as he hired a photographer to come along with his entourage. Penn denied such accusation in an article he wrote for The Huffington Post. Director Spike Lee interviewed Penn for his documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, about Hurricane Katrina.

Support for same-sex marriage

On February 22, 2009, Penn received the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Milk. In his acceptance speech, Penn said " ... I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone!"

2010 Haiti earthquake: Manager of Relief Organization and Tent Camp

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Sean Penn co-founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization and has been running a 55,000 person tent camp. Due to his visibility as an on-the-ground advocate for rescue and aid efforts in the aftermath, Penn was designated by president Michel Martelly as Ambassador-at-Large for Haiti, the first time that a non-Haitian citizen has been designated as such in the country's history. Penn received the designation on January 31, 2012.

Pakistan

Penn gained significant attention in the Pakistan media when he visited Karachi and Badin in 2012. On 23 March 2012, he visited flood-stricken villages of Karim Bux Jamali, Dargah Shah Gurio and Peero Lashari in Badin District. He was accompanied by US Consul General Willian J. Martin and distributed blankets, quilts, kitchen items and other goods amongst flood survivors. On 24 March 2012, Penn also visited Bilquis Edhi Female Child Home and met Pakistan's iconic humanitarian worker Abdul Sattar Edhi and his wife, Bilquis Edhi. He also laid floral wreaths and paid respect at the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi.

Controversies

Physical assault against Madonna

Penn's marriage to pop singer Madonna was known for its tumultuous and toxic qualities. Penn reportedly abused her with his drinking and mood-swings and struck Madonna in the head with a baseball bat during a heated dispute.

Defense of Hugo Chávez

In March 2010, Penn called for the arrest of those referring to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez as a dictator. Sean Penn was a friend of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. When he died, Penn said "Venezuela and its revolution will endure under the proven leadership of Vice President (Nicolás) Maduro. Today the United States lost a friend it never knew it had. And poor people around the world lost a champion. I lost a friend I was blessed to have."

Falkland Islands controversy

In February 2012 Penn met with the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Buenos Aires where he made a statement on the long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, saying "I know I came in a very sensitive moment in terms of diplomacy between Argentina and the UK over the Malvinas islands. And I hope that diplomats can establish true dialogue in order to solve the conflict as the world today cannot tolerate ridiculous demonstrations of colonialism. The way of dialogue is the only way to achieve a better solution for both nations."

The comments were taken as support of Argentina's claim to the islands and evoked strong reactions in the British media, with one satirical article in The Daily Telegraph requesting that Penn "return his Malibu estate to the Mexicans." Falklands War veteran and political activist, Simon Weston condemned Penn's actions by saying, "Sean Penn does not know what he is talking about and, frankly, he should shut up. His views are irrelevant and it only serves to fuel the ire of the Argentinians and get them more pumped up." Of the furor, Lauren Collins wrote in The New Yorker "As of today, Sean Penn is the new Karl Lagerfeld"?the man upon whom, having disrespected something dear to the United Kingdom, the British papers most gleefully pile contempt".

Penn later claimed that he had been misrepresented by the British press and that his criticism of "colonialism" was a reference to the deployment of Prince William as an air-sea rescue pilot, describing it as a "message of pre-emptive intimidation". He claimed that the Prince's posting meant "the automatic deployment of warships", and stated "My oh my, aren't people sensitive to the word colonialism, particularly those who implement colonialism." In a piece written in The Guardian, Penn wrote that "the legalisation of Argentinian immigration to the Malvinas/Falkland Islands is one that it seems might have been addressed, but for the speculative discovery of booming offshore oil in the surrounding seas this past year." He further wrote that "irresponsible journalism" had suggested "that I had taken a specific position against those currently residing in the Malvinas/Falkland Islands, that they should either be deported or absorbed into Argentine rule. I neither said, nor insinuated that."

Filmography and awards

On December 18, 2006, Penn received the Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award from the Creative Coalition.

Actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Taps	Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer	film debut
1982	Fast Times at Ridgemont High	Jeff Spicoli
1983	Summerspell	Buddy
1983	Bad Boys	Michael O'Brien
1984	Crackers	Dillard
1984	Racing with the Moon	Henry 'Hopper' Nash/Lou
1985	'	Daulton Lee
1986	At Close Range	Brad Whitewood Jr.
1986	Shanghai Surprise	Glendon Wasey	Nominated " Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
1987	Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam	Narrator
1988	Cool Blue	Phil the Plumber	Uncredited
1988	Colors	Officer Danny McGavin
1988	Judgment in Berlin	Guenther X
1989	Casualties of War	Sgt. Tony Meserve
1989	We're No Angels	Jim
1990	State of Grace	Terry Noonan
1991	Schneeweißrosenrot	Himself	Documentary film
1992	Cruise Control	Jeffrey	Short film
1993	'	Himself	Documentary film
1993	Carlito's Way	David Kleinfeld	Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor " Motion Picture
1995	Dead Man Walking	Matthew Poncelet	Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Silver Bear for Best Actor Nominated " Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
1997	Loved	Man on the Hill (Michael)
1997	She's So Lovely	Eddie Quinn	Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor
1997	U Turn	Bobby Cooper
1997	'	Conrad Van Orton
1997	Hugo Pool	Strange Hitchhiker
1998	Hurlyburly	Eddie	Volpi Cup Nominated " Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
1998	'	1st Sgt. Welsh
1999	Being John Malkovich	Himself	Uncredited
1999	Sweet and Lowdown	Emmett Ray	Nominated " Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated " Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2000	'	Himself	Documentary film
2000	Up at the Villa	Rowley Flint
2000	Before Night Falls	Cuco Sánchez
2000	'	Thomas Janes
2001	Dogtown and Z-Boys	Narrator	Documentary film
2001	'	Groovin' Larry (segment Beaver Kid 2)
2001	Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool	Himself	Documentary film
2001	See How They Run	Himself	Documentary film
2001	I Am Sam	Sam Dawson	Nominated " Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated " Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2003	It's All About Love	Marciello
2003	Mystic River	Jimmy Markum	Academy Award for Best Actor Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated " BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated " Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated " Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
2003	21 Grams	Paul Rivers	Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Volpi Cup Nominated " BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated " Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
2004	'	Samuel J. Bicke	Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2005	'	Tobin Keller
2006	All the King's Men	Willie Stark
2007	Persepolis	Marjane's father	English dub; voice role
2007	War Made Easy	Narrator	Documentary film
2008	Tropic Thunder	Himself	Cameo
2008	Milk	Harvey Milk	Academy Award for Best Actor Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Best Actor Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Southeastern Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated " BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actor " Motion Picture Drama Nominated " Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male Nominated " Irish Film and Television Award for Best International Actor Nominated " London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated " MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2008	Witch Hunt	Narrator and Executive Producer	Documentary film
2010	Fair Game	Joseph Wilson
2011	'	Adult Jack
2011	This Must Be the Place	Cheyenne
2013	Gangster Squad	Mickey Cohen
2013	The Secret Life of Walter Mitty	Sean O'Connell	Post-production
2014	Inherent Vice		Filming
2014	The Gunman	Martin Terrier

Director

Year	Title	Notes
1991	'	Also writer, Nominated " Locarno International Film Festival Golden Leopard
1995	'	Also writer, Nominated " Golden Lion
2001	'	Nominated " Golden Bear Nominated " Bodil Award for Best Non-European Film Nominated " Palme d'Or
2002	11'9"01 September 11	Anthology short, segment "U.S.A." UNESCO Award Nominated " César Award for Best Film from the European Union
2007	Into the Wild	Also writer, Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Best Director Rome Film Fest Premiere Prize São Paulo International Film Festival Best Foreign Language Film Nominated " Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Director Nominated " BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Writer Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated " Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director " Motion Picture Nominated " Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Foreign Film " English Language Nominated " Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay