Learning, Studying… Always Perfecting: The Making of One Battle After Another
2026 · Movie
as Self
Sean Penn
1960-08-17
•
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
Samuel Bayer Beyond the Frame
2026 · Movie
as Self
Animals in War
2025 · Movie
One Battle After Another
2025 · Movie
as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw
In Thanks We Trust
2025 · Movie
as Self
Everybody's Live with John Mulaney
2025 · TV Show
as Self - Actor and Founder of CORE
aka Charlie Sheen
2025 · TV Show
as Self
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
2025 · TV Show
as Self
BRATS
2024 · Movie
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bruce Springsteen: The America Whisperer
2024 · Movie
as Self : Actor, Director & Writer (Archive footage)
Daddio
2024 · Movie
as Clark
Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique
2024 · Movie
as Self
Becoming Madonna
2024 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
Superpower
2023 · Movie
as Self
Gonzo Girl
2023 · Movie
Asphalt City
2023 · Movie
as Gene Rutkovsky
Gaslit
2022 · TV Show
as John Mitchell
Licorice Pizza
2021 · Movie
as Jack Holden
Flag Day
2021 · Movie
as John Vogel
Citizen Penn
2020 · Movie
as Himself
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A Virtual Table Read
2020 · Movie
as Pizza Guy
The Professor and the Madman
2019 · Movie
as Dr. William Chester Minor
Lights Out with David Spade
2019 · TV Show
as Self
The First
2018 · TV Show
as Tom Haggerty
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
2018 · TV Show
Sound of Sun
2017 · Movie
as Man
No image
Mad Hannans
2017 · Movie
The Angry Birds Movie
2016 · Movie
as Terence (voice)
El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle
2016 · Movie
as Self
Sweet Micky for President
2015 · Movie
as Self
The Human Experiment
2015 · Movie
as Narrator
The Gunman
2015 · Movie
as Jim Terrier
Beaver Trilogy Part IV
2015 · Movie
as Himself (archive footage)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015 · TV Show
as Self
The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles
2014 · Movie
as Self
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
2014 · Movie
as Self
Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story
2014 · Movie
as Himself
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
Gangster Squad
2013 · Movie
as Mickey Cohen
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2013 · Movie
as Sean O'Connell
Haiti Untold
2012 · Movie
Americans
2012 · Movie
as Commie
The Tree of Life
2011 · Movie
as Jack
Woody Allen: A Documentary
2011 · Movie
as Self
This Must Be the Place
2011 · Movie
as Cheyenne
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune
2011 · Movie
as Self
I'm Still Here
2010 · Movie
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Fair Game
2010 · Movie
as Joseph Wilson
The People Speak
2009 · Movie
as Self
Deflating the Elephant
2009 · Movie
as Narrator
Milk
2008 · Movie
as Harvey Milk
What Just Happened
2008 · Movie
as Sean Penn
Witch Hunt
2008 · Movie
as Himself (Narrator)
VH1 Rock Honors: The Who
2008 · Movie
as Self
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis
2008 · TV Show
as Self
Brando
2007 · Movie
as Self
War Made Easy
2007 · Movie
as Narrator (Voice)
The Graham Norton Show
2007 · TV Show
as Self
Brando: The Documentary
2007 · TV Show
as Self
All the King's Men
2006 · Movie
as Willie Stark
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
2006 · Movie
as Self
VH1 Rock Honors
2006 · TV Show
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
2006 · TV Show
as Self
The Interpreter
2005 · Movie
as Tobin Keller
Iconoclasts
2005 · TV Show
as Self
No image
The Reichen Show
2005 · TV Show
as Self
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
2004 · Movie
as Samuel Bicke
21 Grams: In Fragments
2004 · Movie
as Self
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
2004 · Movie
as Self
Dennis Hopper: The Decisive Moments
2004 · Movie
as Self
No image
Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild
2004 · Movie
as Self(archive footage) (uncredited)
No image
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
2004 · Movie
as Self
Mystic River
2003 · Movie
as Jimmy Markum
21 Grams
2003 · Movie
as Paul Rivers
It's All About Love
2003 · Movie
as Marciello
Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die)
2003 · Movie
as Self
Inside Björk
2003 · Movie
as Self
Pauly Shore Is Dead
2003 · Movie
as Sean Penn
Bukowski: Born Into This
2003 · Movie
as Self
This So-Called Disaster
2003 · Movie
as Ray
No image
Mystic River: From Page to Screen
2003 · Movie
as Self
Viva La Bam
2003 · TV Show
Two and a Half Men
2003 · TV Show
as Sean Penn
Celebrities Uncensored
2003 · TV Show
as Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003 · TV Show
as Self, Self - Guest
Real Time with Bill Maher
2003 · TV Show
as Self
Dogtown and Z-Boys
2002 · Movie
as Narrator
Searching for Debra Winger
2002 · Movie
as Self (uncredited)
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
2002 · Movie
as Self
I Am Sam
2001 · Movie
as Sam Dawson
The Weight of Water
2001 · Movie
as Thomas Janes
Before Night Falls
2000 · Movie
as Cuco Sanchez
Beaver Trilogy
2000 · Movie
as "Groovin' Larry" Huff
Up at the Villa
2000 · Movie
as Rowley Flint
A Constant Forge
2000 · Movie
as Self
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2000 · TV Show
as Sean Penn
Sweet and Lowdown
1999 · Movie
as Emmet Ray
Being John Malkovich
1999 · Movie
as Sean Penn (uncredited)
Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1999 · Movie
The Early Show
1999 · TV Show
as Self
No image
Where Are They Now?
1999 · TV Show
as Self
Family Guy
1999 · TV Show
as Sean Penn (voice)
Hurlyburly
1998 · Movie
as Eddie
The Thin Red Line
1998 · Movie
as 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
U Turn
1997 · Movie
as Bobby Cooper
The Game
1997 · Movie
as Conrad Van Orton
Hugo Pool
1997 · Movie
as Strange Hitchhiker
She's So Lovely
1997 · Movie
as Eddie Quinn
Loved
1997 · Movie
as Man on the Hill (Michael)
The View
1997 · TV Show
as Self
Dead Man Walking
1995 · Movie
as Matthew Poncelet
Robbie Robertson: A Retrospective - From the Band to the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame
1994 · Movie
as Himself
Inside the Actors Studio
1994 · TV Show
as Self
Friends
1994 · TV Show
as Eric
Carlito's Way
1993 · Movie
as David Kleinfeld
The Last Party
1993 · Movie
as Self
Madonna: The Name of the Game
1993 · Movie
as Self
Cruise Control
1992 · Movie
The Larry Sanders Show
1992 · TV Show
as Sean Penn
State of Grace
1990 · Movie
as Terry
Cool Blue
1990 · Movie
as Phil the Plumber (uncredited)
The Word
1990 · TV Show
Casualties of War
1989 · Movie
as Sgt. Tony Meserve
We're No Angels
1989 · Movie
as Jim
Colors
1988 · Movie
as Danny McGavin
Judgment in Berlin
1988 · Movie
as Guenther X
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
1987 · Movie
as (voice)
At Close Range
1986 · Movie
as Bradford 'Brad' Whitewood Jr.
Shanghai Surprise
1986 · Movie
as Glendon Wasey
The Falcon and the Snowman
1985 · Movie
as Daulton Lee
Racing with the Moon
1984 · Movie
as Henry 'Hopper' Nash
Crackers
1984 · Movie
as Dillard
Bad Boys
1983 · Movie
as Mick O'Brien
Summerspell
1983 · Movie
as Buddy
Risky Business
1983 · Movie
as Passenger in Car (uncredited)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1982 · Movie
as Jeff Spicoli
Taps
1981 · Movie
as Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
The Killing of Randy Webster
1981 · Movie
as Don Fremont
No image
The Beaver Kid 2
1981 · Movie
as Groovin' Larry
Hellinger's Law
1981 · Movie
as Bit Part (uncredited)
Saturday Night Live
1975 · TV Show
as Self - Host, Self (uncredited)
Little House on the Prairie
1974 · TV Show
as Boy (uncredited)
No image
aspekte
1965 · TV Show
as Self
The Oscars
1953 · TV Show
as Self
Golden Globe Awards
1944 · TV Show
as Self - Presenter, Self - Nominee
Crew Credits
Words of War
2025 · Movie
Executive Producer
Manas
2025 · Movie
Executive Producer
September 5
2024 · Movie
Producer
Superpower
2023 · Movie
Director
Asphalt City
2023 · Movie
Producer
C*A*U*G*H*T
2023 · TV Show
Executive Producer
kid 90
2021 · Movie
Executive Producer
Flag Day
2021 · Movie
Director, Producer
The Last Face
2017 · Movie
Director
The Human Experiment
2015 · Movie
Executive Producer
The Gunman
2015 · Movie
Screenplay, Producer
Americans
2012 · Movie
Story
Where the Wild Things Are
2009 · Movie
Thanks
Into the Wild
2007 · Movie
Director, Screenplay, Producer
September 11
2002 · Movie
Director, Writer
The Pledge
2001 · Movie
Director, Producer
She's So Lovely
1997 · Movie
Executive Producer
Loved
1997 · Movie
Producer
The Crossing Guard
1995 · Movie
Director, Writer, Producer
The Indian Runner
1991 · Movie
Director, Screenplay
Candles
· Movie
Set Decoration
No image
Untitled Jamal Khashoggi Project
· Movie
Director, Producer
No image
Untitled Sean Penn Film
· Movie
Director
The Gun on Second Street
· Movie
Executive Producer
No image
Untitled Sean Penn Film
· Movie
Director, Writer, Producer
