Sean Penn Biography
Biography
Sean Penn was born to the late Leo Penn (a film director who was
blacklisted for refusing to testify during the McCarthy era) and
Eileen Ryan - an actress. Leo Penn was the son of Jewish
immigrants from Lithuania and Russia, while Ryan is a Roman
Catholic of Italian and Irish descent; his paternal family's
surname was originally Pinon, but was changed when his
grandfather emigrated to the United States. Penn has one living
brother — musician Michael Penn. His younger brother, actor
Chris Penn died on January 24, 2006.
Penn launched his career with the film Fast Times at Ridgemont
High in the role of Jeff Spicoli, and has since starred in over
forty movies and won an Oscar for Mystic River. One of his
competitors for that Oscar was Bill Murray who was so clearly
devastated that he did not win for his performance in Lost in
Translation that the presenter also asked the audience to clap
for Murray. He has also been nominated for three other Academy
Awards in recognition of his roles in the films I Am Sam, Sweet
and Lowdown and Dead Man Walking.
In 1991, Sean 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 — The Crossing Guard in 1995 and The Pledge in 2001.
Both of these films starred
Jack Nicholson.
Sean 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 marriage, 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 April 10, 2003, Penn's 1987 Buick Grand National was stolen
in Berkeley, California with two firearms in the trunk.
Along with Johnny Depp and Mick Hucknall he part-owns the
Parisian restaurant-bar Man Ray.
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.
Sean Penn was portrayed in the war satire Team America: World Police
(2004), which prompted the actor to fire off a letter critical
of its filmmakers: Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The letter is
said to have ended with Penn saying "F--- off", which amused the
filmmakers, who used the letter as a form of publicity to
promote the movie.
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, Sean Penn traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to
aid
Hurricane Katrina victims. He was involved in several
rescues, including 73-year-old John Brown, 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. Although Penn was praised for his
rescue efforts, he was also criticized for bringing along a
cameraman to document the event.
On January 7, 2006 Sean Penn was a special guest at a forum hosted by
the Progressive Democrats of America. He was joined by author
and media critic Normon Solomon, Democratic congressional
candidate Charles Brown, and activist Cindy Sheehan. The
"Out of Iraq Forum" was attended by 200 individuals and took
place in Sacramento, California. The program was moderated by
Bill Dursten, President of the Sacramento Chapter of Physicians
for Social Responsibility. The forum was held at a SEIU union
hall and was organized to promote the anti-war movement calling
for an end to the War in Iraq. Progressive activists, Democratic
Party leaders, and other individuals gathered to demonstrate
their impatience and frustration with U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Film List
- 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)
- 11'9''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
This Sean Penn Biography Page is Copyright The Planets © 2004 - 2006 Chuck Ayoub