Sean Penn Article Index for
Sean
Website Links For
Sean
 

Information About

Sean Penn




Sean Justin Penn (born August 17 , 1960 ) is an Academy Award -winning American film Actor .


BIOGRAPHY


Early life

Penn was born in Santa Monica , California , to the late Leo Penn (a film director who was Blacklist ed for refusing to testify during The McCarthy Era ) and Eileen Ryan , an actress. Leo Penn was the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia , while Ryan (born Eileen Annucci) is a Roman Catholic of Italian and Irish descent. The Penn surname was originally ''Piñon'', but it was changed when his grandfather emigrated to the United States. Penn has one living brother, musician Michael Penn . Another younger brother, actor Chris Penn , died on January 24 , 2006 .


Career

Penn launched his career with the film '' Fast Times At Ridgemont High '' in the role of Jeff Spicoli and has since starred in over 40 Movies . He won an Oscar for '' Mystic River ''. One of his competitors for that Oscar was Bill Murray who was so clearly devastated that he did not win for his performance in '' Lost In Translation '' that the presenter also asked the audience to clap for Murray. Penn has also been nominated for three other Academy Awards in recognition of his roles in the films '' I Am Sam '', '' Sweet And Lowdown '' and '' Dead Man Walking ''.

In '' in 1995 and '' The Pledge '' in 2001 . Both of these films starred Jack Nicholson .


Personal life

Penn's personal life began to attract much media attention when he married Pop Star Madonna in 1985 . The relationship was marred by violent outbursts against the press intrusion into his life, including one incident for which he was arrested. Later in the marriage, Penn was charged with felony domestic assault. He later pleaded to a misdemeanor charge. After a divorce in 1989 , Penn started a relationship with Robin Wright , with whom he had two children, son Hopper and daughter Dylan before they married in 1996. They live in Ross, California .

On April 10 , 2003 , Penn's 1987 Buick Grand National was stolen in Berkeley, California with two firearms in the trunk. Sean also has a 1968 Chevrolet El Camino .

Along with Johnny Depp and Mick Hucknall , Sean Penn is part-owner of the Parisian restaurant-bar Man Ray .

Penn's height is 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m).


Political/social causes

On October 18 , 2002 , Penn placed a $56,000 advertisement in the '' Washington Post '' asking 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, largely eschewing meetings with the press.

He was portrayed in the war satire '' and Matt Stone . The letter ends with Penn saying " Fuck you", which amused the filmmakers, who used the letter as a form of publicity to promote the movie.

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 ceremony at Tehran University . {Link without Title}

In September 2005, Penn traveled to '' magazine reporter Matt Taibbi to document the event.

On January 7 , 2006 , Penn was a special guest at a forum hosted by the Progressive Democrats Of America . He was joined by author and media critic Normon Solomon, Democratic congressional candidate Charles Brown, and activist Cindy Sheehan . The "Out of Iraq Forum" was attended by 200 individuals and took place in Sacramento, California . The program was moderated by Bill Dursten, President of the Sacramento Chapter of Physicians For Social Responsibility . The forum was held at a SEIU union hall and was organized to promote the anti-war movement calling for an end to the War In Iraq . Progressive activists, Democratic Party leaders, and other individuals gathered to demonstrate their impatience and frustration with U.S. involvement in Iraq .


SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY


Acting



Directing



  Title Academy Award For Best Actor
  Years 2003<br>'''for '' Mystic River '' '''
  Before Adrien Brody <br>for '' The Pianist ''