Sean Penn
Biography
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor and filmmaker born on August 17, 1960, in Santa Monica, California. Recognized for his versatility and intense performances, he is widely known for his work as a leading man in film. Throughout his career, Penn has received significant industry recognition, including three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. His accolades also include a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. In addition to his competitive honors, he was presented with the Honorary César in 2015 and the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2022. He maintains a reputation as a powerhouse performer capable of moving work.
Career overview
Sean Penn began his feature film career in the 1981 drama Taps. He quickly gained recognition for his roles in several notable films throughout the 1980s, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High in 1982, Bad Boys in 1983, and At Close Range in 1986. His filmography continued to expand over the following decades, featuring performances in projects such as Dead Man Walking in 1995 and the 2025 film One Battle After Another. Penn has demonstrated a capacity for intense and varied character portrayals throughout his professional life.
His work has earned him two Academy Awards for Best Actor. The first was for his portrayal of a grieving father in the 2003 film Mystic River. He received his second Academy Award for his performance as gay rights activist Harvey Milk in the 2008 film Milk. Beyond his acting credits, which total over 160, Penn is also an established director. His career has been marked by a consistent progression in his craft, drawing both professional acclaim and significant media attention for his work in the film industry.
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Career timeline
Full filmography
- Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another (2026) as Self
- Samuel Bayer Beyond the Frame (2026) as Self
- One Battle After Another (2025) as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw
- Everybody's Live with John Mulaney (2025) as Self - Actor and Founder of CORE
- Variety & CNN Actors on Actors (2025) as Self
- Manas (2025) Executive Producer
- aka Charlie Sheen (2025) as Self
- Animals in War (2025)
- Words of War (2025) Executive Producer
- In Thanks We Trust (2025) as Self
- Becoming Madonna (2024) as Self (archive footage)
- September 5 (2024) Producer
- BRATS (2024) as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Daddio (2024) as Clark
- Bruce Springsteen: The America Whisperer (2024) as Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage)
- Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique (2024) as Self
- C*A*U*G*H*T (2023) Executive Producer
- Gonzo Girl (2023)
- Asphalt City (2023) as Gene Rutkovsky
- Asphalt City (2023) Producer
- Superpower (2023) as Self
- Superpower (2023) Director
- Gaslit (2022) as John Mitchell
- Licorice Pizza (2021) as Jack Holden
- kid 90 (2021) Executive Producer
- Flag Day (2021) as John Vogel
- Flag Day (2021) Director
- Flag Day (2021) Producer
- Citizen Penn (2020) as Himself
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read (2020) as Pizza Guy
- Lights Out with David Spade (2019) as Self
- The Professor and the Madman (2019) as Dr. William Chester Minor
- Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (2018)
- The First (2018) as Tom Haggerty
- The Last Face (2017) Director
- Mad Hannans (2017)
- Sound of Sun (2017) as Man
- The Angry Birds Movie (2016) as Terence (voice)
- El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle (2016) as Self
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self
- The Gunman (2015) as Jim Terrier
- The Gunman (2015) Screenplay
- The Gunman (2015) Producer
- The Human Experiment (2015) as Narrator
- The Human Experiment (2015) Executive Producer
- Beaver Trilogy Part IV (2015) as Himself (archive footage)
- Sweet Micky for President (2015) as Self
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014) as Self - Guest
- Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey (2014) as Self
- The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles (2014) as Self
- Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story (2014) as Himself
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) as Sean O'Connell
- Gangster Squad (2013) as Mickey Cohen
- Americans (2012) as Commie
- Americans (2012) Story
- Haiti Untold (2012)
- The Tree of Life (2011) as Jack
- This Must Be the Place (2011) as Cheyenne
- Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011) as Self
- Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011) as Self
- I'm Still Here (2010) as Sean Penn (uncredited)
- Fair Game (2010) as Joseph Wilson
- Where the Wild Things Are (2009) Thanks
- The People Speak (2009) as Self
- Deflating the Elephant (2009) as Narrator
- Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008) as Self
- Milk (2008) as Harvey Milk
- What Just Happened (2008) as Sean Penn
- Witch Hunt (2008) as Himself (Narrator)
- VH1 Rock Honors: The Who (2008) as Self
- The Graham Norton Show (2007) as Self
- Into the Wild (2007) Director
- Into the Wild (2007) Screenplay
- Into the Wild (2007) Producer
- Brando: The Documentary (2007) as Self
- Brando (2007) as Self
- War Made Easy (2007) as Narrator (Voice)
- All the King's Men (2006) as Willie Stark
- VH1 Rock Honors (2006)
- When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) as Self
- Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride (2006) as Self
- The Reichen Show (2005) as Self
- The Interpreter (2005) as Tobin Keller
- Iconoclasts (2005) as Self
- The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004) as Self
- The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) as Samuel Bicke
- 21 Grams: In Fragments (2004) as Self
- Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild (2004) as Self(archive footage) (uncredited)
- Mystic River: Beneath the Surface (2004) as Self
- Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments (2004) as Self
- Two and a Half Men (2003) as Sean Penn
- Real Time with Bill Maher (2003) as Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) as Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) as Self - Guest
- Mystic River (2003) as Jimmy Markum
- 21 Grams (2003) as Paul Rivers
- Viva La Bam (2003)
- Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003) as Sean Penn
- It's All About Love (2003) as Marciello
- Bukowski: Born Into This (2003) as Self
- Inside Björk (2003) as Self
- This So-Called Disaster (2003) as Ray
- Mystic River: From Page to Screen (2003) as Self
- Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) (2003) as Self
- Celebrities Uncensored (2003) as Self
- Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002) as Narrator
- September 11 (2002) Director
- September 11 (2002) Writer
- Searching for Debra Winger (2002) as Self (uncredited)
- Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick (2002) as Self
- I Am Sam (2001) as Sam Dawson
- The Pledge (2001) Director
- The Pledge (2001) Producer
- The Weight of Water (2001) as Thomas Janes
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) as Sean Penn
- Beaver Trilogy (2000) as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
- Before Night Falls (2000) as Cuco Sanchez
- Up at the Villa (2000) as Rowley Flint
- A Constant Forge (2000) as Self
- Family Guy (1999) as Sean Penn (voice)
- Where Are They Now? (1999) as Self
- The Early Show (1999) as Self
- Being John Malkovich (1999) as Sean Penn (uncredited)
- Sweet and Lowdown (1999) as Emmet Ray
- Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1999)
- The Thin Red Line (1998) as 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
- Hurlyburly (1998) as Eddie
- The View (1997) as Self
- The Game (1997) as Conrad Van Orton
- U Turn (1997) as Bobby Cooper
- Hugo Pool (1997) as Strange Hitchhiker
- She's So Lovely (1997) as Eddie Quinn
- She's So Lovely (1997) Executive Producer
- Loved (1997) as Man on the Hill (Michael)
- Loved (1997) Producer
- Dead Man Walking (1995) as Matthew Poncelet
- The Crossing Guard (1995) Director
- The Crossing Guard (1995) Writer
- The Crossing Guard (1995) Producer
- Friends (1994) as Eric
- Inside the Actors Studio (1994) as Self
- Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame (1994) as Himself
- Carlito's Way (1993) as David Kleinfeld
- The Last Party (1993) as Self
- Madonna: The Name of the Game (1993) as Self
- The Larry Sanders Show (1992) as Sean Penn
- Cruise Control (1992)
- The Indian Runner (1991) Director
- The Indian Runner (1991) Screenplay
- The Word (1990)
- 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
- Colors (1988) as Danny McGavin
- Judgment in Berlin (1988) as Guenther X
- Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987) as (voice)
- At Close Range (1986) as Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
- Shanghai Surprise (1986) as Glendon Wasey
- The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) as Daulton Lee
- Racing with the Moon (1984) as Henry 'Hopper' Nash
- Crackers (1984) as Dillard
- Bad Boys (1983) as Mick O'Brien
- Risky Business (1983) as Passenger in Car (uncredited)
- Summerspell (1983) as Buddy
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) as Jeff Spicoli
- Taps (1981) as Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
- The Beaver Kid 2 (1981) as Groovin' Larry
- Hellinger's Law (1981) as Bit Part (uncredited)
- The Killing of Randy Webster (1981) as Don Fremont
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self - Host
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self (uncredited)
- Little House on the Prairie (1974) as Boy (uncredited)
- aspekte (1965) as Self
- The Oscars (1953) as Self
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Presenter
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee
- The Gun on Second Street Executive Producer
- Candles Set Decoration
- Untitled Sean Penn Film Director
- Untitled Sean Penn Film Writer
- Untitled Sean Penn Film Producer
- Untitled Sean Penn Film Director
- Untitled Jamal Khashoggi Project Director
- Untitled Jamal Khashoggi Project Producer