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Sean Penn
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Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American film actor and director. In 2004, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is also well-known for his political activism and support of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Biography
Early lifePenn was born in Los Angeles County, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan, an actress. He has one living brother, musician Michael Penn. Another brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia. Penn's mother is a Roman Catholic of Italian and Irish descent. According to Penn's mother, Leo Penn may have had distant Spanish ancestry, as the family's surname was originally "Pińón".
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Encyclopedia
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American film actor and director. In 2004, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is also well-known for his political activism and support of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Biography
Early lifePenn was born in Los Angeles County, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan, an actress. He has one living brother, musician Michael Penn. Another brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia. Penn's mother is a Roman Catholic of Italian and Irish descent. According to Penn's mother, Leo Penn may have had distant Spanish ancestry, as the family's surname was originally "Pińón". Penn was raised in a secular home and is an Agnostic.
CareerPenn appeared in a 1974 episode of Little House on the Prairie as a then blonde-haired extra because his father, Leo, directed some of the episodes. Penn launched his career with the 1981 film Taps, followed a year later with the comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (in the role of Jeff Spicoli), and has since starred in over forty movies. In 1983, Penn turned in one of his best early performance as Mick O'Brien, a troubled youth in the drama Bad Boys. It earned Penn favorable reviews and jump started his career as a serious actor.
In 1985, Penn gave a memorable performance in the role of Andrew Daulton Lee in The Falcon and the Snowman. Lee was a former drug dealer by trade, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and was originally sentenced to life in prison. Lee was paroled in 1998. According to an April 8, 2005, interview in The Guardian, Penn later hired Lee as his personal assistant, partly because he wanted to reward Lee for allowing him to play Lee in the film, and also because he was a firm believer in rehabilitation and thought Andrew Lee should be reintegrated into society now that he is a free man again.
In 1986 he starred in the drama At Close Range, opposite Christopher Walken. The film was based on a true story and gained positive reviews from critics. Fans and critics noticed the change in Penn's body build. Penn appeared very muscular and in shape. It's considered to be the first film to cash in on Penn's status as a sex symbol. The film featured his then wife Madonna's single "Live to Tell". The music video for the song featured clips from the movie. The video played heavily on MTV and the music video helped promote the film.
In April 1987, during the production of Colors, Sean Penn was arrested for punching a photographer who was taking pictures of him without permission. He served a month in jail for the assault.
In 1991, Penn made his directorial debut with The Indian Runner, a film based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman" from the Nebraska album. He also directed music videos, such as: Shania Twain's "Dance with the One That Brought You" in 1993 and Peter Gabriel's "The Barry Williams Show" in 2002. He also appeared on an episode of Viva La Bam in 2004 with his son, Hopper. He has since directed three more films: The Crossing Guard in 1995, The Pledge in 2001, and the critically acclaimed Into the Wild in 2007.
Penn will star in Gus Van Sant's bio-pic Milk, as real life gay rights icon Harvey Milk; the film is scheduled for a late 2008 release.
Political and social causes
Criticism of President Bush
On October 18, 2002, Penn placed a US$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.
This advertisement was cited as a primary reason for the development of his friendship with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Hugo Chávez has also used and read aloud an open letter Sean Penn wrote to President Bush in one of his recent televised speeches. The letter condemned the Iraq War, called for President Bush to be impeached, and also called President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "villainously and criminally obscene people". Chávez also said in the same televised speech "Welcome to Venezuela, Mr. Penn. What drives him is consciousness, the search for new paths," and also "He's one of the greatest opponents of the Iraq invasion."
On August, 2007, Penn met with Hugo Chávez in Caracas for two hours. Chávez praised his bravery in urging Americans to impeach President Bush. Chávez also said Penn "made great films" and that he was "well-informed". Penn also visited a new film studio on the outskirts of Caracas, though he did not speak publicly.
On June 10, 2005, Penn made a visit to Iran. Acting as a journalist on an assignment for the San Francisco Chronicle, he attended a Friday prayer at Tehran University.
On January 7, 2006, Penn was a special guest at a forum hosted by the Progressive Democrats of America. He was joined by author and media critic Norman 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 express negative feelings towards Bush and call for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the war in Iraq.
In 2005, Penn appeared at the ACLU of Northern California's annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration to present Sister Helen Prejean with the Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award for her work opposing the death penalty.
On April 19, 2007, Penn appeared on The Colbert Report and had a "Meta-Free-Phor-All" versus Stephen Colbert that was judged by Robert Pinsky. This stemmed from some of Penn's criticisms of President Bush. His exact quote was "We cower as you point your fingers telling us to support our troops. You and the smarmy pundits in your pocket those who bathe in the moisture of your soiled and blood-soaked underwear can take that noise and shove it." He won the contest 10,000,000, to Stephen Colbert's 1.
On December 7, 2007, Penn said he is supporting Ohio Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich for U.S. President in 2008, and criticized President Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Penn questioned whether Bush's twin daughters supported the war in Iraq.
Hurricane KatrinaIn September 2005, Penn traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, to aid Hurricane Katrina victims. He was physically involved in rescuing people. He was and is supported by best-selling author Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Tulane University and archival historian for the city. The two were seen on CNN coverage September 2, 2005, as Penn, filthy, soaked, and exhausted, gave an impromptu interview about what he was seeing and doing, and obviously critical of the response until that time, stating that at that time he felt there was only "about one-fifth" the assistance and resources there that needed to be.
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