What is the story about?
Sean Penn was expected to be at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday (March 15) at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Instead, he chose to visit Kyiv. Known
to be a vocal advocate for Ukraine, the actor did not receive his Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another. According to an AFP reporter, Penn was in Ukraine for personal reasons and said, “That's how he sees it, that he needs to be in Ukraine.” The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shared a picture with the One Battle After Another actor on X.
Sean Penn visits Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Sean has been a vocal supporter of Zelenskyy. The actor is known to decline award ceremony invites even in the past. This time, he met the President, who shared a picture and called him a ‘true friend’ of Ukraine. In his tweet, Zelenskyy wrote, “You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war,” before adding, “And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people.”
How did Sean Penn and Volodymyr Zelenskyy bond?
Penn and Zelenskyy bonded over the latter’s documentary. The actor felt the Ukrainian President’s story was interesting to tell. Sean had set out to make a fun documentary of an entertainer turned President; however, it took a different direction. After the first shoot with him failed, the actor did not give up. Zelenskyy, who kept his word, trusted him more than on the first day. The documentary titled Superpower was screened at the Berlin Film Festival. As per the official synopsis, “Sean Penn heads to Ukraine to learn more about comedic-actor turned president, Volodymyr Zelensky. But when Penn finds himself in an undisclosed bunker of the Presidential Palace on the evening of the Russian invasion, he instead has a front row seat to Zelensky's greatest challenge as a world leader.”
Sean Penn and Hollywood awards
Sean has never been regular at the awards. While he skipped theOscars 2026, he failed to mark his presence at the ceremony that was held in 2004, too. He had received an award for Mystic River. Penn is the fourth actor to win three Oscars.
About One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another follows the story of Bob Ferguson (DiCaprio), once a firebrand radical in the leftist vigilante collective French 75. He lives in near-anonymity with his teenage daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). Sixteen years have passed since his lover Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) disappeared. Soon, the ghost of the past returns as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), a militaristic, sleazy figure whose power has only grown in Bob’s years of retreat. Due to this, Bob is forced back into a world of comrades, betrayals, and high-stakes resistance.
