Sean Penn

Sean Penn (born August 17, 1960) is a American film actor noted for his inflammatory and sometimes violent personality. Penn is the son of director Leo Penn, who was blacklisted during McCarthyism for refusing to testify. He has two brothers: actor Chris Penn and musician Michael Penn.

Penn has starred in over 40 movies and has won an Academy Award (for Mystic River). He has also been nominated for three other Academy Awards (for I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown and Dead Man Walking).

Penn lives in Marin County, California, north of San Francisco. Once married to pop icon Madonna (August 16, 1985 to January 10, 1989), Penn is currently married to actress Robin Wright, whom he wed on April 27, 1996. They have two children together, born before the two were married.

On October 18, 2002, Penn placed an $56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post asking President 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 criticised 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. Penn came under criticism that his gas-guzzling car and gun ownership did not jibe with his advocacy of liberal causes.

Partial filmography

• 21 Grams (2003)
• Mystic River (2003)
• It's All About Love (2003)
• 9'11''01 September 11 (2002)
• I Am Sam (2001)
• The Beaver Trilogy (2001)
• Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001, voice)
• The Weight of Water (2000)
• Before Night Falls (2000)
• Up at the Villa (2000)
• Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
• Being John Malkovich (1999, uncredited)
• The Thin Red Line (1998)
• Hurlyburly (1998)
• Hugo Pool (1997)
• The Game (1997)
• U Turn (1997)
• She's So Lovely (1997)
• Loved (1997)
• Dead Man Walking (1995)
• Carlito's Way (1993)
• The Last Party (1993)
• Schneeweißrosenrot (1991)
• State of Grace (1990)
• We're No Angels (1989)
• Casualties of War (1989)
• Cool Blue (1988, uncredited, voice)
• Judgment in Berlin (1988)
• Colors (1988)
• Shanghai Surprise (1986)
• At Close Range (1986)
• The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
• Racing with the Moon (1984)
• Crackers (1984)
• Summerspell (1983)
• Bad Boys (1983)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
• Taps (1981)

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.

External link

• The IMDB entry on Penn (http://www.imdb.com/Name?Penn,+Sean)

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