Background and career
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 BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for 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 three Academy Awards, Best Actor twice for playing a grieving father in Mystic River (2003) and the gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk (2008), and Best Supporting Actor for playing corrupt military officer Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another (2025). He was also 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 Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war.
How Sean Penn makes money
Penn also appeared in the Ukrainian anthology film War Through the Eyes of Animals, portraying a sound producer at the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in the act "The Eagle"; he offered to be in the movie for just $1 since the Screen Actors Guild forbids its members from working for free. He was fined $50 on each of two misdemeanor charges of assault and battery.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2026-03-16), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
