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By Jenni Fink
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Sean Penn won best supporting actor for his role in One Battle After Another but didn't attend the awards because he was in Ukraine.
While the Oscars are typically treated as mandatory appearances for major nominees—especially winners—Penn’s no-show was consistent with a pattern he has established throughout the current awards season and much of his career. Penn, a two-time previous Oscar winner, also skipped the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the BAFTAs earlier this year, despite winning at both ceremonies.
Penn skipped the ceremony on Sunday to go to Ukraine, according to the New York Times. Penn previously gifted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky one of his two Oscars.
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During the Oscars broadcast, presenter Kieran Culkin acknowledged Penn’s absence while accepting the award on his behalf, quipping that the actor “couldn’t be here this evening—or didn’t want to.” So, Culkin accepted the award on the actor's behalf.
Penn previously skipped the Oscars when nominated in 1996, 2000, and 2002, only attending ceremonies when he ultimately won Best Actor for Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009. Over the years, Penn has publicly criticized aspects of the film industry and awards culture, and has expressed skepticism about the meaning and value of competitive accolades in acting.
"I’d rather not be nominated than be pressured to have to participate. My dear friend Julia Roberts says—and I smile and nod—“anyone who says they don’t want to win the Academy Award is lying.” It’s not true. It’s not about not wanting to win; it’s all that goes with it and all the smiling involved and nodding. It’s just a social anxiety thing to me; it’s not comfortable," Penn previously told Newsweek.
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His political activism has also intersected with his view of the Oscars. In 2023, Penn told Variety that he had considered melting down his two Oscar statuettes to be used as ammunition for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Penn also filmed a documentary about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and spent a lot of time in the country while filming it in 2022.
Penn told Newsweek that when he won the Oscar for Mystic River, he only went because he was "embarrassed" that Clint Eastwood had to accept his Golden Globe award for him that same year.
"I went and I happened to win, and the only feeling I could ever have winning is relief. Relief because you see how much investment people you like and have been supportive of you and who paid you are putting into the hope that that happens. You’re just relieved they didn’t waste their time. I probably would have been a lot more excited watching from my couch," Penn told Newsweek.
One Battle After Another has been criticized by some for being "communist propaganda," but Penn rejected that it's "pro" anything. He said he understands the criticism because people are "looking for anything" to be critical about, but "I don't think there's any intellectual truth to it."
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