Sean Penn

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

141

Gender

Male

Birthday

1960-08-17 (65 years old)

Place of Birth

Santa Monica, California, USA

Sean Penn

Biography

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.

Known For

  • Family Guy

    Family Guy

  • One Battle After Another

    One Battle After Another

  • Friends

    Friends

  • Two and a Half Men

    Two and a Half Men

  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

    The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

  • Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live

  • Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live

  • The Graham Norton Show

    The Graham Norton Show

  • Curb Your Enthusiasm

    Curb Your Enthusiasm

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • Real Time with Bill Maher

    Real Time with Bill Maher

  • Little House on the Prairie

    Little House on the Prairie

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • The View

    The View

  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!

    Jimmy Kimmel Live!

  • Where Are They Now?

    Where Are They Now?

  • The Reichen Show

    The Reichen Show

  • The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

    The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles

    The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles

  • I Am Sam

    I Am Sam

  • Mystic River

    Mystic River

  • Lights Out with David Spade

    Lights Out with David Spade

  • The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

    The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

  • Bad Boys

    Bad Boys

  • Firing Line with Margaret Hoover

    Firing Line with Margaret Hoover

  • Carlito's Way

    Carlito's Way

  • The Angry Birds Movie

    The Angry Birds Movie

  • The Game

    The Game

  • Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read

    Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read

  • Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam

    Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam

  • Gangster Squad

    Gangster Squad

  • aka Charlie Sheen

    aka Charlie Sheen

  • The Thin Red Line

    The Thin Red Line

  • Fair Game

    Fair Game

  • U Turn

    U Turn

  • aspekte

    aspekte

  • Colors

    Colors

  • Milk

    Milk

  • Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

    Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

  • The Tree of Life

    The Tree of Life

  • Being John Malkovich

    Being John Malkovich

  • 21 Grams

    21 Grams

  • Fast Times at Ridgemont High

    Fast Times at Ridgemont High

  • Gaslit

    Gaslit

  • Taps

    Taps

  • Casualties of War

    Casualties of War

  • Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride

    Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride

  • Risky Business

    Risky Business

  • Licorice Pizza

    Licorice Pizza

  • Cool Blue

    Cool Blue

  • Inside Björk

    Inside Björk

  • Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

    Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

  • The Professor and the Madman

    The Professor and the Madman

  • Loved

    Loved

  • Dead Man Walking

    Dead Man Walking

  • The Interpreter

    The Interpreter

  • The First

    The First

  • Beaver Trilogy

    Beaver Trilogy

  • Shanghai Surprise

    Shanghai Surprise

  • This Must Be the Place

    This Must Be the Place

  • The Gunman

    The Gunman

  • State of Grace

    State of Grace

  • Asphalt City

    Asphalt City

  • The Falcon and the Snowman

    The Falcon and the Snowman

  • When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

    When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

  • The Killing of Randy Webster

    The Killing of Randy Webster

  • At Close Range

    At Close Range

  • Daddio

    Daddio

  • Hugo Pool

    Hugo Pool

  • BRATS

    BRATS

  • I'm Still Here

    I'm Still Here

  • Hurlyburly

    Hurlyburly

  • The Weight of Water

    The Weight of Water

  • Iconoclasts

    Iconoclasts

  • Judgment in Berlin

    Judgment in Berlin

  • Sweet and Lowdown

    Sweet and Lowdown

  • Racing with the Moon

    Racing with the Moon

  • Viva La Bam

    Viva La Bam

  • Gonzo Girl

    Gonzo Girl

  • Before Night Falls

    Before Night Falls

  • The Early Show

    The Early Show

  • Woody Allen: A Documentary

    Woody Allen: A Documentary

  • A Constant Forge

    A Constant Forge

  • We're No Angels

    We're No Angels

  • What Just Happened

    What Just Happened

  • She's So Lovely

    She's So Lovely

  • Up at the Villa

    Up at the Villa

  • Flag Day

    Flag Day

  • The Assassination of Richard Nixon

    The Assassination of Richard Nixon

  • Hellinger's Law

    Hellinger's Law

  • It's All About Love

    It's All About Love

  • The People Speak

    The People Speak

  • All the King's Men

    All the King's Men

  • Animals in War

    Animals in War

  • Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High

    Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High

  • Dogtown and Z-Boys

    Dogtown and Z-Boys

  • War Made Easy

    War Made Easy

  • Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

    Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

  • Crackers

    Crackers

  • Pauly Shore Is Dead

    Pauly Shore Is Dead

  • 21 Grams: In Fragments

    21 Grams: In Fragments

  • Beaver Trilogy Part IV

    Beaver Trilogy Part IV

  • VH1 Rock Honors

    VH1 Rock Honors

  • Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey

    Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey

  • Searching for Debra Winger

    Searching for Debra Winger

  • Brando: The Documentary

    Brando: The Documentary

  • Bruce Springsteen – The America whisperer

    Bruce Springsteen – The America whisperer

  • VH1 Rock Honors: The Who

    VH1 Rock Honors: The Who

  • Inside the Actors Studio

    Inside the Actors Studio

  • Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division

    Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division

  • Sweet Micky for President

    Sweet Micky for President

  • Summerspell

    Summerspell

  • The Last Party

    The Last Party

  • Superpower

    Superpower

  • Brando

    Brando

  • Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)

    Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)

  • The Beaver Kid 2

    The Beaver Kid 2

  • Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique

    Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique

  • Celebrities Uncensored

    Celebrities Uncensored

  • Mystic River: From Page to Screen

    Mystic River: From Page to Screen

  • Bukowski: Born Into This

    Bukowski: Born Into This

  • Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick

    Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick

  • Mad Hannans

    Mad Hannans

  • Americans

    Americans

  • This So-Called Disaster

    This So-Called Disaster

  • Cruise Control

    Cruise Control

  • Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild

    Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild

  • Haiti Untold

    Haiti Untold

  • The Human Experiment

    The Human Experiment

  • In Thanks We Trust

    In Thanks We Trust

  • Mystic River: Beneath the Surface

    Mystic River: Beneath the Surface

  • Citizen Penn

    Citizen Penn

  • 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

  • Madonna: The Name of the Game

    Madonna: The Name of the Game

  • Deflating the Elephant

    Deflating the Elephant

  • Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments

    Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments

  • Sound of Sun

    Sound of Sun

  • Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story

    Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story

  • Witch Hunt

    Witch Hunt

  • Variety & CNN Actors on Actors

    Variety & CNN Actors on Actors