Sean Penn

Because before his role in Mystic River , the wayward actor had already received three other nominations for his performances in Death Penalty (1995), Chords and Disagreements (1999) and I Am Sam (2001). And the funny thing is that, surely, it cost him much more to embody those roles than to get into the skin of the tormented Jimmy Markum in the multi-award-winning film by Clint Eastwood. The reason is simple: it seems that Sean Penn’s character has many points in common with that of his character, a passionate type, with a well of bitterness in his heart, for whom superficiality does not exist and whose overflowing and unstable pushes him to face whoever gets ahead of him. Not by chance, her wife, also an actress Robin Wright , received the following compliment from her husband when receiving the golden statuette: “To Robin, for being an unwavering emotional inspiration on this roller coaster that I am learning to enjoy.” .

Sean Justin Penn was born on August 17, 1960 in Santa Monica (California). He is the son of actress Hielen Ryan and TV director Leo Penn , now deceased. He is the eldest of three brothers. Michael is a musician, while Sean and Chris soon decided to follow in their fathers footsteps. After high school, Sean joined the Group Repertory Theater and at the age of 13 he made his first on-camera appearance in the series Barnaby Jones . At the age of 21, he made his film debut in Taps , alongside fellow upstarts Timothy Hutton and Tom Cruise . It was soon seen that Sean had more than enough talent to headline.

He tried comedy ( That Exciting Course , 1982) and showed his dramatic side in Perverse Boys (1983), Farewell to Innocence (1984) or The Falcon Game (1985). Around that time he began to claim magazine covers due to his marriage to Madonna, a union that lasted four years and that he doesn’t even want to remember. He also earned a well-deserved “stay away” reputation when he spent a month in jail for assaulting journalists.

But those circumstances did not prevent him from continuing to climb the acting ladder. In 1989 he starred with Michael J. Fox in the war film Hearts of Iron and the following year he fell in love with Robin Wright, his co-star in the more than notable The Clan of the Irish . With her he had two children before marrying in 1995, Dylan Frances and Jack Hopper (named after the couple’s very close friendship with Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson ).

And by then Sean had also begun to dazzle with his facet as a writer and director. First with Strange Blood Bond (1991) and then with the disturbing Crossing the Darkness (1995) and The Oath (2001), both starring his inseparable Nicholson. As an actor, he once again stood out with his pathetic role as a corrupt lawyer in Trapped by His Past (1993) and later as a murderer in Death Penalty (1995), his first Oscar nomination. He would later accompany Michael Douglas in The Game (1997) and pillory the frivolous and hypocritical rottenness that dominates Hollywood in the harsh Hurlyburly.(1998). That film fits well with the thinking of the actor, known for his criticism of the “establishment”: “When I go to the movies, it’s very difficult not to be dominated by uncontrollable rage. A lot of movies that are currently being produced in Hollywood are a waste.” Meanwhile, he denies the awards and says that he does not prostitute himself (he only attended the Oscars in his last nomination).

The result of recent years is a handful of splendid films that have placed him among one of the most requested actors: The Thin Red Line (1998), Chords and Disagreements (1999), I Am Sam (2001) and the recent Mystic River . and 21 grams , both from 2003. True to his style, he lives in San Francisco, far from the pomp of Hollywood. The next thing we will see of him is The Assassination of Richard Nixon , where he will once again share the screen with actress Naomi Watts , his co-star in 21 Grams .