Profile of Sean Penn on Famous Like Me

Sean Penn (born August 17, 1960 in Santa Monica, California) is an American film actor. Penn is the son of the late director Leo Penn (who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era for refusing to testify) and actress, Eileen Ryan. He has two brothers: actor Chris Penn and musician Michael Penn. His father was Jewish and his mother is Italian and Irish with a Catholic background.

Penn launched his career in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High in the role of Jeff Spicoli, and has since starred in over 40 movies and won an Oscar for Mystic River. He has also been nominated for three other Academy Awards for his roles in the films I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown and Dead Man Walking.

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 has since directed two more films, both starring Jack Nicholson, The Crossing Guard in 1995 and The Pledge in 2001.

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 marrige, 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 before they married in 1996. They live in Marin County, California.

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.

On April 10, 2003, Penn's limited-edition 1987 Buick Grand National, with two firearms in the trunk, was stolen in Berkeley, California.

On June 10, 2005, Penn made a visit to Iran. Acting as a journalist on an assignment for the San Francisco Chronicle, he attended Friday prayer ceremony at Tehran University.

In September of 2005, Penn traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to aid Hurricane Katrina victims. He successfully rescued 40 people, including John Brown, age 73, who had told his sister over the phone: "Guess who come and got me out of the house? Sean Penn, the actor. The boys were really nice." The actor then gave some rescuees an unspecified amount of money to tide them over, and then took those who were in need of medical attention to the hospital. Penn carried a shotgun for self-protection during his time in New Orleans.

Partial filmography

Acting

• In Search of Captain Zero (2005)
• All the King's Men (2005)
• The Interpreter (2005)
• The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)
• Pauly Shore is Dead (2004)
• It's All About Love (2004)
• Bukowski: Born Into This World (2004)
• 21 Grams (2003)
• Mystic River (2003)
• 9'11''01 September 11 (2002)
• The Weight of Water (2002)
• Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002)
• I Am Sam (2001)
• The Beaver Trilogy (2001)
• Before Night Falls (2000)
• Up at the Villa (2000)
• Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
• The Thin Red Line (1998)
• Hurlyburly (1998)
• The Game (1997)
• U Turn (1997)
• Hugo Pool (1997)
• She's So Lovely (1997)
• Dead Man Walking (1995)
• Carlito's Way (1993)
• State of Grace (1990)
• Casualties of War (1989)
• We're No Angels (1989)
• Colors (1988)
• Judgment in Berlin (1988)
• Cool Blue (1988)
• Shanghai Surprise (1986)
• At Close Range (1986)
• The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
• Racing with the Moon (1984)
• Crackers (1984)
• Bad Boys (1983)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
• The Killing of Randy Webster (1981)
• Taps (1981)

Directing

• The Crossing Guard
• The Indian Runner
• The Pledge

Quotes

"If there's one thing that actors know —other than there weren't any WMDs— it's that there is no such thing as best in acting." --After winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2004.

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