Sean Penn scooped the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 98th Academy Awards last night [March 15], but how much do you know about the veteran actor?
The 98th Academy Awards took place last night, and the annual highlight of the acting world did not disappoint, with One Battle After Another and Sinners being the big winners.
One of the six awards that One Battle After Another won was Best Supporting Actor, which went to Hollywood veteran Sean Penn, who has been a fixture in Hollywood for nearly 45 years.
But how much do you know about Sean Penn? Read on to discover some facts you might not know.
He comes from an acting family
Long before ‘nepo baby’ became a thing, Sean followed in the footsteps of his parents to become an actor. His father was Leo Penn, who appeared in and directed episodes of many TV shows, and his mother was Eileen Ryan, who appeared on Broadway and in various TV shows – including some alongside her sons in the 1980s and 90s.
Sean’s younger brother, Chris, was also an actor and appeared in many movies before his death at the age of 40 in 2006. Sean’s other brother, Michael, is a musician.
Sean Penn has won three Oscars
Sean’s win at this year’s Oscars is not his first. The Best Supporting Actor award will go alongside two he already owns on his mantelpiece. Sean won the Best Actor award for his performance as a grieving father in Mystic River (2003), which was followed by another Best Actor gong in 2008 for his role as gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk.
In addition, Sean has been nominated for an Oscar on another three occasions for roles in Dead Man Walking (1995), Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and I Am Sam (2001).
He was once married to Madonna
Sean has dated many famous women over the years, including Charlize Theron, but he was once married to arguably the most famous woman in the world – Madonna. They met on the set of Madonna’s Material Girl music video in January 1985, and were married on August 16 that year – Madonna’s 27th birthday, and the day before Sean’s 25th.
Madonna dedicated her third album, True Blue, to Penn in 1986. However, the marriage was stormy and Madonna filed for divorce in December 1987, only to withdraw the papers two weeks later. But then in January 1989, she filed for divorce again, permanently this time.
He is a keen surfer
Sean first came to international prominence for his role as Jeff Spicoli in teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Sean’s portrayal of a teenage surfer stoner pretty much created the surfer dude stereotype, as well as catapulting him to stardom.
But it turns out that Sean can surf for real, which makes fans of the movie love Spicoli all the more.
Sean also narrated the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, which tells the story of how a group of teenage surfers pretty much set the template for modern skateboarding.
He once took out an advert in The Washington Post
Sean is well known for his political activism over the years, but one of the most famous ways he put his views across came in 2002, when he paid $56,000 to place an advert in The Washington Post.
The advert took the form of an open letter, addressed to then-president George W Bush, calling on him to end military hostilities in Iraq and elsewhere. At the time, it was widely anticipated that the US was going to attack Iraq, as part of the ‘war on terror’. Penn criticised Bush for, among other things, his “simplistic and inflammatory view of good and evil.”
But while the stunt gained huge publicity, it didn’t work as the US went on to invade Iraq in March 2003.
