Academy Award winner Sean Penn has become an American film icon during a career spanning just over two decades. He has been nominated four times for the Academy Award as Best Actor-for Dead Man Walking, Sweet and Lowdown, I Am Sam and most recently won the Oscar in 2003 for his searing performance in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (for which he also won a Best Actor Golden Globe).

Penn made his feature film acting debut in 1981 in Harold Becker's Taps. In 1982, he acted his way into pop-culture history starring as Jeff Spicoli in Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Penn has appeared in nearly 30 films, including The Falcon and the Snowman, At Close Range, Colors, Casualties of War, We're No Angels, State of Grace, Carlito's Way, U Turn, The Thin Red Line, She's So Lovely (Winner Best Actor, 1997 Cannes Film Festival), Hurlyburly (Winner Best Actor, 1998 Venice Film Festival), 21 Grams (Winner Best Actor, 2003 Venice Film Festival) and most recently, The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

Penn's feature film directorial debut came with 1991's The Indian Runner, which he also wrote and produced. In 1995, he directed, wrote and produced the highly acclaimed The Crossing Guard, starring Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston and Robin Wright Penn. His third film as director/producer was The Pledge, which was named in the Top Ten Films of 2001 by the National Board of Review. Most recently, Penn wrote and directed the United States' contribution to the documentary film 11'09'01. This important project gathered 11 acclaimed directors from around the world to create short films in response to the horrific events of September 11, 2001. The film received a special recognition award from the National Board of Review in 2003.

Penn has appeared onstage in productions including Alfred Hayes' Girl on the Via Flaminia and Albert Innaurato's Earthworms in Los Angeles. On Broadway, Penn performed in Kevin Heelan's Heartland and John Byrne's Slab Boys. He appeared in David Rabe's Hurlyburly at the Westwood Playhouse and Goose and Tom Tom at Lincoln Center, both productions directed by the author. Most recently, Penn starred opposite Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson in The Late Henry Moss, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard.

In 2002, Sean Penn was presented with the Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In 2003, he was the youngest to receive the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Sebastien Film Festival.