BASIC
Sean Penn
Actor
in Santa Monica, California, United States
Powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work who has gone from strength to strength during a colourful film career, and who has drawn much media attention for his stormy private life and political viewpoints, California-born Sean Penn is the second son of actress Eileen Ryan & director Leo Penn, also brother of Chris Penn. He first appeared in roles as strong-headed or unruly youths such as the military cadet defending his academy against closure in Taps (1981), then as fast-ta... Morelking surfer stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).
Fans and critics were enthused about his obvious talent and he next contributed a stellar performance alongside Timothy Hutton in the Cold War spy thriller The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), followed by a teaming with icy Christopher Walken in the chilling At Close Range (1986). The youthful Sean then paired up with his then wife, pop diva Madonna in the woeful, and painful, Shanghai Surprise (1986), which was savaged by the critics, but Sean bounced back with a great job as a hot-headed young cop in Colors (1988), gave another searing performance as a US soldier in Vietnam committing atrocities in Casualties of War (1989) and appeared alongside Robert De Niro in the uneven comedy We're No Angels (1989). However, the 1990s was the decade in which Sean really got noticed by critics as a mature, versatile and accomplished actor, with a string of dynamic performances in first-class films.
Almost unrecognisable with frizzy hair and thin rimmed glasses, Penn was simply brilliant as corrupt lawyer David Kleinfeld in the Brian De Palma gangster movie Carlito's Way (1993) and he was still in trouble with authority as a Death Row inmate pleading with a caring nun to save his life in Dead Man Walking (1995), for which he received his first Oscar nomination. Sean then played the brother of wealthy Michael Douglas, involving him in a mind-snapping scheme in The Game (1997) and also landed the lead role of Sgt. Eddie Walsh in the star-studded anti-war film The Thin Red Line (1998), before finishing the 1990s playing an offbeat jazz musician (and scoring another Oscar nomination) in Sweet and Lowdown (1999).
The gifted and versatile Sean had also moved into directing, with the quirky but interesting The Indian Runner (1991), about two brothers with vastly opposing views on life, and in 1995 he directed Jack Nicholson in The Crossing Guard (1995). Both films received overall positive reviews from critics. Moving into the new century, Sean remained busy in front of the cameras with even more outstanding work: a mentally disabled father fighting for custody of his seven-year-old daughter (and receiving a third Oscar nomination) for I Am Sam (2001); an anguished father seeking revenge for his daughter's murder in the gut-wrenching Clint Eastwood-directed Mystic River (2003) (for which he won the Oscar as Best Actor); a mortally ill college professor in 21 Grams (2003) and a possessed businessman in The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) Less
Physical details
Special skills
Dance:
Ballet, English, Folk & Traditional, Modern, Religious and Sacred Dance, Samba, Swing, Tango
Singing:
Musical Theatre, Operatic
Sports:
Baseball, Cricket, Darts, Fencing, Golf, Karate, Rowing, Rugby, Skiing, Squash, Tennis
Musical Instruments:
Guitar, Piano
Language:
English, French Canadian
Accents:
American Southern, New York City
Additional:
Firearms, Hosting, Martial Arts, Martial Arts Weapons, Modeling, Newscasting
Film
Mickey Cohen
Ruben Fleischer
Cheyenne
Paolo Sorrentino
Willie Stark
Steven Zaillian
Tobin Keller
Sydney Pollack
Samuel J. Bicke
Niels Mueller
Paul Rivers
Alejandro Gonzã¡lez Iã±ã¡rritu
Jimmy Markum
Clint Eastwood
Marciello
Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Janes
Kathryn Bigelow
Cuco Sanchez
Julian Schnabel
1st Sgt. Edward Welsh
Terrence Malick
Strange Hitchhiker
Robert Downey Sr.
Bobby Cooper
Oliver Stone
Eddie Quinn
Nick Cassavetes
Man On The Hill (michael)
Erin Dignam
Matthew Poncelet
Tim Robbins
David Kleinfeld
Brian De Palma
Phil The Plumber (uncredited)
Mark Mullin, Richard Shepard
Sgt. Tony Meserve
Brian De Palma
Officer Danny Mcgavin
Dennis Hopper
Glendon Wasey
Jim Goddard
Brad Whitewood Jr.
James Foley
Daulton Lee
John Schlesinger
Henry 'hopper' Nash
Richard Benjamin
Mick O'brien
Rick Rosenthal
Jeff Spicoli
Amy Heckerling
Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer
Harold Becker
TV
Eric – The One With The Stain (2001) … Eric – The One With The Halloween Party (2001) … Eric
David Crane, Marta Kauffman
Sean Penn – Emma (1997) … Sean Penn (uncredited)
Carol Black, Neal Marlens, David S. Rosenthal
Guest – Sean Penn (1996) … Guest
N/a
Don Fremont
Sam Wanamaker
Sam – School Of Terror (1979) … Sam
William Kaye
Kid – The Voice Of Tinker Jones (1974) … Kid (uncredited)
Ande Lamb
Voice Over
Mr. Satrapi - Marjane's Father (voice: English Version)
Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Mr. Satrapi - Marjane's Father (voice: English Version)
Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
