Two-time Academy Award® winner Sean Penn has become an American film icon in a career spanning nearly three decades. Penn has been nominated five times for the Academy Award® as Best Actor for "Dead Man Walking," "Sweet and Lowdown," "I Am Sam" and won his first Oscar® in 2003 for his searing performance in Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River" and his second Oscar® as Best Actor in 2009 for Gus Van Sant's "Milk. The performance as gay rights icon Harvey Milk also garnered Penn "Best Actor" awards from The Screen Actors Guild, New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Penn has appeared in over thirty films including "Taps," "Fast Times At Ridegemont High," "The Falcon and The Snowman," "At Close Range," "Colors," "Racing with the Moon," "Casualties of War," "We're No Angels," "State of Grace," "Carlito's Way," "U-Turn," "The Thin Red Line," "Dead Man Walking" (Winner Best Actor / 1995 Berlin Film Festival), "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), "The Interpreter" and "All The Kings Men." Penn will next be seen in Terrence Malick drama "The Tree of Life" opposite Brad Pitt and is currently filming the Doug Liman drama "Fair Game" opposite Naomi Watts.

Penn's feature film directorial debut came with 1991's "The Indian Runner," which he also wrote and produced. In 1995, he directed "The Crossing Guard," which he also wrote and produced. His third film as director/producer was 2001's "The Pledge" starring Jack Nicholson and was named in the Top Ten Films of 2001 by The National Board of Review. Since then, Penn wrote and directed the United States contribution to the compilation 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. In 2003 the film was nominated for a French Cesar in the best European Union Film category and received a special recognition award from the National Board of Review. As writer, producer and director, "Into the Wild" marked Penn's fourth feature film, which opened to rave reviews in September 2007. The film, based on Jon Krakauer's best-selling non-fiction book, premiered at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals and appeared on many lists of the top ten films of 2007.

Penn has appeared on stage in productions including Alfred Hayes' "Girl on the Viaq 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-winning writer Sam Shepard.

In 2002, Sean Penn was presented with the Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and in 2003, became the youngest ever recipient of the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Sebastian Film Festival. In 2004, he received the John Steinbeck Award for outspoken torch-bearers in the creative arts. In 2008, Penn recieved the Desert Palm Achievement Award for Acting, after being presented in 2007 with the Director of the Year Award for "Into the Wild" from the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Penn served as President of the jury for the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival and later that year was named a Knight in the French Legion of Honor.

As a journalist, Penn has written for Time, Interview, and Rolling Stone magazines. In 2004, Penn wrote a two-part feature in The San Francisco Chronicle after a second visit to the war-torn Iraq. In 2005, he wrote a five-part feature in the same paper, reporting from Iran during the election, which led to the Ahmadinejad regime.

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