Sean Penn bagged a prestigious award at the 2026 Oscars but was absent from the ceremony. Penn won the accolade for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his incredible performance as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in the Oscar-winning film One Battle After Another. However, he was a no-show at the Academy Award ceremony. Reportedly, there was a particular reason behind his absence.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy posts about Sean Penn
Sean Penn was spending time with his good friend Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian President tweeted a picture of him sitting across the table from the Mystic River star.
Zelenskyy tweeted, “Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is. You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war. This is still true today. And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people.”
Unsurprisingly, the post has garnered 34K likes, 4.8K retweets, 606 bookmarks, and 531 comments as of writing. According to Deadline, the 65-year-old has spent most of his time in Ukraine since the Russia-Ukraine war began in 2022. The following year, he filmed a documentary titled Superpower, detailing Zelenskyy’s life and unconventional career choices, from being an entertainer to Ukraine’s President.
Hence, Penn skipped this year’s Oscars ceremony. The Milk star is known to frequently skip award shows, prompting Kieran Culkin to quip, “Sean Penn couldn’t be here, or didn’t want to, so I’ll accept the award on his behalf.” Notably, Penn is one of just four men to win three acting Oscars.
Penn has joined the ranks of prolific actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, and Walter Brennan as the most-awarded male actors in Academy history. The aforementioned names have three Oscar wins to their credit. Penn previously won Best Actor awards for Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009 (via Hindustan Times).
Notably, Sean Penn’s kind gesture did not go unnoticed by fans who lavished praise on the Oscar winner. One fan commented, “skipping the ceremony where you won an oscar to be in ukraine instead. Most people can’t even skip a dinner reservation without guilt. that’s conviction.”
A second fan wrote, “Bravo Sean Penn! A great artist and a great man who has his priorities straight. His unwavering support for Ukraine is an inspiration.”
