Movies by Sean Penn
As part of the cast:
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Fair Game (2010)
Cast: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Brooke Smith …
Directed by: Doug Liman
After her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn), writes op-ed columns accusing the Bush administration of misleading the public to justify invading Iraq, Valerie Plame Wilson's…
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The Tree of Life (2009)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Fiona Shaw …
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Brad Pitt and Sean Penn star in Terrence Malick's 1950s adventure about a confused man named Jack, who sets off on a journey to understand the true nature of the world. Growing up in the…
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The People Speak (2009)
Cast: Marisa Tomei, Josh Brolin, Viggo Mortensen …
Directed by: Anthony Arnove, Chris Moore, Howard Zinn …
Inspired by historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States," a slate of top performers takes the stage to recreate the voices of American history's most…
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What Just Happened? (2008)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci …
Directed by: Barry Levinson
A harried film producer (Robert De Niro) juggles a lunatic director, a temperamental actor (Bruce Willis) and an out-of-control production while courting a studio head (Catherine Keener) and…
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Milk (2008)
Cast: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin …
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Sean Penn (in an Oscar-winning role) stars in this fact-based drama about Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was murdered along with Mayor George Moscone…
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Witch Hunt (2008)
Cast: Sean Penn, Jackie Cummings, Brenda Kniffen …
Directed by: Don Hardy Jr., Dana Nachman
Sean Penn narrates this documentary that chronicles the story of John Stoll and other residents of Bakersfield, Calif., who were wrongly convicted in the 1980s of child molestation and other…
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Deflating the Elephant (2008)
Cast: Sean Penn, George Lakoff
Directed by: Aldo Vidali
Oscar-winning actor and activist Sean Penn teams with author George Lakoff (Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate) in this thought-provoking examination of…
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Brando: The Documentary (2007)
Cast: Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Johnny Depp …
Directed by: Mimi Freedman
Mysterious, powerful and unpredictable, Marlon Brando was one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. This intriguing portrait presents interviews with Brando, his family and colleagues…
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War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (2007)
Cast: Sean Penn, Norman Solomon
Directed by: Loretta Alper, Jeremy Earp
Based on Norman Solomon's revealing book and narrated by actor Sean Penn, this documentary exposes the government's and the media's purported history of deceiving the American…
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All the King's Men (2006)
Cast: Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Sean Penn …
Directed by: Steven Zaillian
Sean Penn stars as corrupt Southern politician Willie Stark -- a charismatic man who wins the populist vote but, behind closed doors, is as underhanded as those he smeared -- in this remake…
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Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride (2006)
Cast: Gary Busey, John Cusack, Johnny Depp …
Directed by: Tom Thurman
Director Tom Thurman's penetrating portrait of Hunter S. Thompson provides a glimpse into the life of the renowned "gonzo" journalist, a counterculture hero who rubbed elbows with some…
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The Interpreter (2005)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener …
Directed by: Sydney Pollack
Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) is a linguist whose job is to translate for her assigned delegate the complex issues facing the United Nations. But her daily challenge turns perilous when she…
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This So-Called Disaster (2004)
Cast: Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Cheech Marin …
Directed by: Michael Almereyda
The play "The Late Henry Moss" by Sam Shepard is explored in this documentary that takes viewers from rehearsal to opening night in San Francisco. The 2000 performance focuses on the three…
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The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)
Cast: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle …
Directed by: Niels Mueller
Set in 1974, this arresting psychological drama based on real-life events centers on Samuel Bicke (Sean Penn), an antisocial, unstable salesman who parlays his delusions of grandeur into a…
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The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)
Cast: Kathy Bates, Quentin Tarantino, Jodie Foster …
Directed by: Wendy Apple
While actors and directors certainly are instrumental in making a movie memorable and weaving story lines together, it's the film editor who strings the scenes into a seamless, artistic…
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Rated R: Republican in Hollywood (2004)
Cast: Jesse Moss, Julie Haener, Arnold Schwarzenegger …
Directed by: Jesse Moss
Arnold "The Governator" Schwarzenegger and Mel Gibson aren't the only conservative thinkers in Tinseltown. Challenging the notion that every actor is a raging liberal, this deft…
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Mystic River (2003)
Cast: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon …
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Tragedy reunites childhood friends Sean (Kevin Bacon), Dave (Tim Robbins) and Jimmy (Sean Penn) when they're linked together in the Boston-based murder investigation of Jimmy's…
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21 Grams (2003)
Cast: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro …
Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
A tragic car accident brings together three strangers -- a teacher (Sean Penn) with a weak heart, a former drug addict (Naomi Watts) turned housewife and an ex-con (Benicio Del Toro)…
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Bukowski: Born into This (2003)
Cast: Charles Bukowski, Sean Penn, Harry Dean Stanton …
Directed by: John Dullaghan
Shot over seven years by filmmaker John Dullaghan, this intimate portrait of writer Charles Bukowski reveals a tortured man who survived years of abuse to produce some of the most influential…
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It's All About Love (2003)
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, Sean Penn …
Directed by: Thomas Vinterberg
In this futuristic thriller about love and fate, professional ice skater Elena (Claire Danes) and her estranged husband, John (Joaquin Phoenix), live in different cities. When John heads to…
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Bjork: Inside Bjork (2003)
Cast: RZA, Thom Yorke, Elton John …
Starting her career at an early age, Icelandic songstress Björk has had tremendous success, blossoming into an international superstar. In addition to revealing Björk's…
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Pauly Shore is Dead (2003)
Cast: Jaime Bergman, Ben Stiller, Sean Penn …
Directed by: Pauly Shore
Stand-up comedian Pauly Shore rose to fame in the 1990s with his hit MTV television show "Totally Pauly" and continued his success on the big screen with roles in "Encino Man" and "Son in…
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Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002)
Cast: Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Bob Biniak …
Directed by: Stacy Peralta
Legendary skateboarder Stacy Peralta directed this fast-paced, award-winning documentary that focuses on the Z-Boys of Venice Beach, Calif., who revolutionized skateboarding in the 1970s when…
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See How They Run (2002)
Cast: Willie Brown, Tom Ammiano, Jesse Jackson …
Directed by: Emily Morse, Kelly Duane
This witty look at San Francisco's mayoral runoff between Willie Brown, Tom Ammiano and Clint Reilly provides a candid look at the mudslinging and scandal that seem to accompany all…
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I Am Sam (2001)
Cast: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning …
Directed by: Jessie Nelson
After fathering a child with a homeless woman, Sam (Sean Penn) -- a grown man with the mental capacity of a 7-year-old -- raises the baby himself until an incident at a birthday party finds…
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The Weight of Water (2001)
Cast: Catherine McCormack, Sarah Polley, Sean Penn …
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Photographer Jean (Catherine McCormack) is drawn into the history of an 1873 double murder of two sisters when she's charged with traveling to New Hampshire to examine the scene of the…
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Up at the Villa (2000)
Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Sean Penn, Anne Bancroft …
Directed by: Philip Haas
Danger is the ultimate aphrodisiac in this romance set in pre-World War II Italy. Kristin Scott Thomas is a beautiful, penniless English widow forced by circumstances to consider the proposal…
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Before Night Falls (2000)
Cast: Andrea Di Stefano, Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp …
Directed by: Julian Schnabel
Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem), an artist who was vilified for his…
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A Constant Forge: The Life and Art of John Cassavetes (2000)
Cast: John Cassavetes, Sean Penn, Jon Voight …
Directed by: Charles Kiselyak
Told through film clips and interviews with artists and friends who knew him and his work best, this engrossing documentary chronicles the life and art of filmmaker John Cassavetes. Actors…
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Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Cast: Sean Penn, Anthony LaPaglia, Samantha Morton …
Directed by: Woody Allen
Writer-director Woody Allen peels back the thin skin that separates a thoroughly obnoxious man from his ability to create heavenly music in this fictional biopic about "the world's…
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Hurlyburly (1998)
Cast: Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Chazz Palminteri …
Directed by: Anthony Drazan
Ambition, sex, money and drugs are part of an average couple of days for 1980s Hollywood players Eddie (Sean Penn) and Mickie (Kevin Spacey) -- who maintain that things wouldn't be so…
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The Thin Red Line (1998)
Cast: Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Kirk Acevedo …
Directed by: Terrence Malick
With an all-star cast -- featuring Sean Penn, George Clooney, Nick Nolte and Adrien Brody -- director Terrence Malick's lyrical and beautiful retelling of James Jones's novel about…
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Hugo Pool (1997)
Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Robert Downey Jr., Richard B. Lewis …
Directed by: Sr., Robert Downey Sr.
This bizarre cult comedy stars Alyssa Milano as Hugo, a young pool cleaner in Los Angeles. In the course of one day, Hugo cleans 44 pools, deals with eccentric and even dangerous clients, and…
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The Game (1997)
Cast: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger …
Directed by: David Fincher
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), a financial genius and a coldhearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad…
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U Turn (1997)
Cast: Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte …
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Bobby (Sean Penn) is a drifter on the run. But he's forced to stay put when his car breaks down in an unfamiliar town, where he meets several odd characters, including greasy mechanic…
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She's So Lovely (1997)
Cast: Robin Wright Penn, Sean Penn, John Travolta …
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Eddie (Sean Penn) and Maureen (Robin Wright Penn) are crazy about each other. When a neighbor attacks Maureen, Eddie snaps -- a move that ends up costing him 10 years of his life. When he…
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Dead Man Walking (1995)
Cast: Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Raymond J. Barry …
Directed by: Tim Robbins
Scheduled to be put to death for brutally slaying two teens, Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) seeks the aid of activist nun Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon), a death-penalty opponent. She becomes…
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Carlito's Way (1993)
Cast: Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller …
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Sprung from prison on a technicality, Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) vows to use his unexpected second chance to his best advantage. But every time he tries to get out of the rackets, the bad…
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Madonna: Name of the Game (1993)
Cast: Madonna, Marlin Ciccone, Sean Penn …
Go where only Madonna has gone before. From interviews with brother Martin Ciccone and exes Sean Penn and Warren Beatty to a tour of her hometown haunts, this all-access documentary takes you…
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State of Grace (1990)
Cast: Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman …
Directed by: Phil Joanou
Terry Noonan (Sean Penn), an Irish-American undercover cop working the Hell's Kitchen beat, returns to his old neighborhood under the guise of reconnecting with friends Frankie and…
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Casualties of War (1989)
Cast: Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Don Harvey …
Directed by: Brian De Palma
In director Brian De Palma's Vietnam-era war drama, a young soldier (Michael J. Fox) suffers a crisis of conscience when the men on his patrol callously rape and murder a Vietnamese girl…
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We're No Angels (1989)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore …
Directed by: Neil Jordan
Bogus priests Robert De Niro and Sean Penn are really escaped convicts who haven't got a prayer of sidestepping a police blockade and making it across the U.S.-Canadian border -- unless…
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Colors (1988)
Cast: Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso …
Directed by: Dennis Hopper
Veteran cop Bob Hodges (Robert Duvall) has nothing but contempt for his new partner, fiery rookie Danny McGavin (Sean Penn). But he comes to appreciate Danny as they patrol the mean streets…
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Judgment in Berlin (1988)
Cast: Martin Sheen, Heinz Hoenig, Jutta Speidel …
Directed by: Leo Penn
On August 30, 1978, a couple from East Germany, with their child in tow, hijacked an airliner to a U.S. base in West Germany. What makes the story even more amazing (beside the fact that…
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Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987)
Cast: Tom Berenger, Ellen Burstyn, Robert De Niro …
Directed by: Bill Couturie
Filmmaker Bill Couturie's poignant HBO documentary strikingly captures the gamut of emotion experienced by Vietnam veterans, as a host of celebrated actors -- including Robert De Niro…
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At Close Range (1986)
Cast: Tracey Walter, Sean Penn, Christopher Walken …
Directed by: James Foley
Reunited with his career criminal father (Christopher Walken) for the first time in years, tough teen Brad Whitewood Jr. (Sean Penn) thinks he's found his ticket to an exciting life of…
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Shanghai Surprise (1986)
Cast: Sean Penn, Madonna, Paul Freeman …
Directed by: Jim Goddard
Madonna plays an unlikely missionary nurse, Gloria Tatlock, to Sean Penn's bounty hunter, Glendon Wasey, in this romantic adventure helmed by Jim Goddard. It's 1937, and…
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The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
Cast: Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Pat Hingle …
Directed by: John Schlesinger
As a CIA employee in charge of guarding top secret documents, all-American Christopher Boyce (Timothy Hutton) becomes disillusioned with his country and decides to make a deal with the Soviet…
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Racing with the Moon (1984)
Cast: Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage …
Directed by: Richard Benjamin
Actor turned director Richard Benjamin helmed this moving drama. On the brink of adulthood in small-town Northern California, teens Henry (Sean Penn) and Nicky (Nicolas Cage) try to have a…
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Bad Boys (1983)
Cast: Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Ally Sheedy …
Directed by: Rick Rosenthal
On the mean streets of Chicago, Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) plays by the rules -- the wrong rules. The only saving grace in his life of crime is his relationship with his girlfriend (Ally…
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Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Cast: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold …
Directed by: Amy Heckerling
In his early 20s, before he became a director, journalist Cameron Crowe went undercover as a high school student and came back with the full scoop on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll in…
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Taps (1981)
Cast: George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn …
Directed by: Harold Becker
Student cadet Brian Moreland (Timothy Hutton) leads his fellow military classmates -- including Alex (Sean Penn) and David (Tom Cruise) -- in an armed revolt to prevent authorities from…
As a director:
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Into the Wild (2007)
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Hal Holbrook, Vince Vaughn …
Directed by: Sean Penn
Sean Penn directs this drama based the best-selling true account of a young man who gives up everything -- including his trust fund and ties to a seemingly stable family -- to lead a solitary…
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September 11 (2002)
Cast: Emmanuelle Laborit, Ernest Borgnine, Tomorowo Taguchi …
Directed by: Shohei Imamura, Samira Makhmalbaf, Danis Tanovic …
An unorthodox look at the repercussions of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, is presented in this collection of short films about how people from all walks of life were ultimately…
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The Pledge (2001)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Dale Dickey, Benicio Del Toro …
Directed by: Sean Penn
Homicide detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) is on the eve of retirement when he gets a call that changes everything. A young girl has been murdered, and Black takes the case, promising…
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The Crossing Guard (1995)
Cast: Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston …
Directed by: Sean Penn
When Freddy and Mary Gale (Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston) lose their daughter to a drunk-driving accident, their marriage isn't strong enough to survive the devastating blow. Now,…
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The Indian Runner (1991)
Cast: Charles Bronson, David Morse, Dennis Hopper …
Directed by: Sean Penn
Sean Penn wrote and directs this poignant drama inspired by Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman." When small-town deputy sheriff Joe Roberts (David Morse) takes in his troubled…