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, then as fast-talking surfer stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

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, followed by a teaming with icy Christopher Walken in the chilling At Close Range. The youthful Sean then paired up with his then wife, pop diva Madonna in the woeful, and painful, Shanghai Surprise, which was savaged by the critics, but Sean bounced back with a great job as a hot-headed young cop in Colors, gave another searing performance as a US soldier in Vietnam committing atrocities in Casualties of War and appeared alongside Robert De Niro in the uneven comedy We're No Angels. 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 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, 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 and also landed the lead role of Sgt. Eddie Walsh in the star-studded anti-war film The Thin Red Line, before finishing the 1990s playing an offbeat jazz musician (and scoring another Oscar nomination) in Sweet and Lowdown.

The gifted and versatile Sean had also moved into directing, with the quirky but interesting The Indian Runner, about two brothers with vastly opposing views on life, and in 1995 he directed Jack Nicholson in The Crossing Guard. 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; an anguished father seeking revenge for his daughter's murder in the gut-wrenching Clint Eastwood-directed Mystic River (for which he won the Oscar as Best Actor); a mortally ill college professor in 21 Grams and a possessed businessman in The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

Certainly Sean Penn is one of Hollywood's most controversial, progressive and gifted actors.
I Am Sam (2001): $5,000,000
The Thin Red Line (1998): $300,000
Hurlyburly (1998): $150,000
He served 32 days in jail in 1987 for hitting an extra. He and Robin Wright Penn lived together from 1991 until their marriage in 1996. They had two children before their marriage. They lost their home in the Malibu fire in November 1993. Appeared with his brother Chris Penn in At Close Range, in which their actress mother, Eileen Ryan, played their grandmother. Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36. Ranked #76 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Son of Leo Penn & Eileen Ryan and brother of actor Chris Penn. Brother of musician Michael Penn. Moved to Marin County (North of San Francisco) to avoid raising his children in Hollywood. Daughter, with Robin Wright Penn, Dylan Frances (b. 13 April 1991). Son, with Robin Wright Penn, Hopper Jack (b. 6 August 1993). His son is named after two family friends, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. Brother-in-law of Aimee Mann. Quit smoking for a while on his 40th birthday for health reasons. Prior to that, he was known as one of Hollywood's heaviest smokers, smoking at least four packs of cigarettes a day. Dated musician and actress Jewel Kilcher for a time. He directed the music video for her song "You Were Meant For Me" in 1997. On September 11, 2004, he received the John Steinbeck award at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The award is given out by the San Francisco Chronicle and benefits San Jose State University. The evening included film clips and discussion with Peter Coyote. The biggest surprise of the night was that Bruce Springsteen (a longtime friend of Sean's and the first recipient of the award) presented it to him. His father was a Jew of Russian and Lithuanian blood and his mother was Irish-Italian-Catholic. His grandparents ran a Jewish deli for some time in New York. In October 2002, he bought a $56,000 ad in the Washington Post to publish an open letter to President George W. Bush asking him to slow down the march of war towards Iraq. He wrote it as a father of two children and as a son of a WW II veteran. His father, Leo Penn, had been blacklisted in the 50s Hollywood. He and his family moved out of Hollywood to Marin County, north of San Francisco because he was "tired of a lot of aspects of Los Angeles, the main one being raising the kids in a company town". His car, a limited-edition 1987 Buick Grand National, was stolen in Berkeley months after his return from Iraq. Among the lost contents were 2 guns. He and director Clint Eastwood discussed the possibility of Sean starring in Blood Work. Though it didn't work out, they got the opportunity to work together later in Mystic River. Andy Warhol was a guest during his August 16, 1985 marriage to Madonna. A popular indie-band in The Netherlands is called "Seanpenn". Briefly engaged to actress-photographer Pamela Springsteen, sister of Bruce Springsteen. Sean and Pamela Springsteen were both cast in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Credits Malcolm McDowell as the best actor with whom he's worked. As of 2005, the only actor to ever receive a Best Actor nomination for a Woody Allen film, besides Woody Allen himself. Was in attendance at Chris Penn's funeral. His performance as "Jeff Spicoli" in Fast Times at Ridgemont High is ranked #9 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. Refuses to talk about his ex-wife Madonna in interviews. On her 1989 "Like A Prayer" album, she wrote a song about their failed marriage called "Till Death Do Us Part". Was in the same acting class as Michelle Pfeiffer at the end of the 70s or early 80s. Good friends with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.