Sean Penn is a 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.
Sean Justin Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the second son of
actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci) and
director, actor, and writer Leo Penn. His
brother was actor Chris Penn. His
father was from a Lithuanian Jewish/Russian Jewish family, and his
mother is of half Italian and half Irish descent.
Penn first appeared in roles as strong-headed or unruly youths such as
the military cadet defending his academy against closure in
Die Kadetten von Bunker Hill (1981), then as fast-talking surfer
stoner Jeff Spicoli in
Ich glaub' ich steh' im Wald (1982).
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
Der Falke Und Der Schneemann (1985),
followed by a teaming with icy
Christopher Walken in the chilling
Auf kurze Distanz (1986). The
youthful Sean then paired up with his then wife, pop diva
Madonna in the woeful, and painful,
Shanghai Surprise (1986), which
was savaged by the critics, but Sean bounced back with a great job as a
hot-headed young cop in Colors - Farben der Gewalt (1988),
gave another searing performance as a US soldier in Vietnam committing
atrocities in
Die Verdammten des Krieges (1989) and
appeared alongside Robert De Niro in the
uneven comedy
Wir sind keine Engel (1989). 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 (1993) 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 - Sein letzter Gang (1995), 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 - Das Geschenk seines Lebens (1997) and also landed the lead
role of Sgt. Eddie Walsh in the star-studded anti-war film
Der schmale Grat (1998),
before finishing the 1990s playing an offbeat jazz musician (and
scoring another Oscar nomination) in
Sweet and Lowdown (1999).
The gifted and versatile Sean had also moved into directing, with the
quirky but interesting
Indian Runner (1991), about
two brothers with vastly opposing views on life, and in 1995 he
directed Jack Nicholson in
Crossing Guard (1995).
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 Ich bin Sam (2001); an anguished father
seeking revenge for his daughter's murder in the gut-wrenching
Clint Eastwood-directed
Mystic River (2003) (for which he
won the Oscar as Best Actor); a mortally ill college professor in
21 Gramm (2003) and a possessed
businessman in
Attentat auf Richard Nixon (2004).
Certainly Sean Penn is one of Hollywood's most controversial,
progressive and gifted actors.
