Sean Penn Birthday: 5 movies of the acclaimed actor to prove that he is a powerhouse performer

Sean Penn has been known as the actor who takes up diverse film roles and has quite the filmography to boast of. However, not just for movies, the man is known for being a producer, director, and an established writer as well. To add to that, Penn has also guest appeared in quite a lot of shows, and there’s one name that everyone knows - Ursula Buffay’s boyfriend in Friends. Yes, that’s Sean Penn!

Penn’s film career has been nothing short of strong, and powerful, with his intense work ethic making way for some of his fantastic performances. It’s definitely hard for anybody to choose Penn’s best movies and list them one after the other, but we have tried to do so. Before checking that, fans should also know about Penn’s recent headline-worthy news where he asked the staff of his latest series Gaslit to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as a mandatory measure. An intense actor, with a logical mind - sign us all up! Now, movie buffs can take a look at some of Penn’s highly acclaimed hits that are listed below:

Mystic River (2003)

Mystic River is one of Penn’s highly praised movies in his career, and had to be our numero uno too! The story revolves around the murder of ex-con Jimmy Marcus’ daughter and apparently, two of Marcus’ childhood friends are involved in the crime. Marcus, played by Penn himself works around the clock to find the suspect and that helped Penn win 2003’s Academy Award for Best Actor.

Dead Man Walking (1995)

Portraying a death row inmate, Penn had really made quite a place for himself in Hollywood with this movie. With Susan Sarandon playing the role of Sister Helen Prejean, Penn’s Matthew Poncelet urges her to help him with one of his last wishes, while making sure not to confess to the crime of killing a young couple, for which he was serving jail time. Writer-director Tim Robbins, along with Penn and Sarandon were nominated for Oscars as the movie left an everlasting impression on the audience.

The Tree of Life (2011)

In this rather philosophical movie, Penn showed a different side of him as an actor. Along with other big names, including Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain who portrayed the role of Penn’s parents, the movie focused on Penn’s character Jack’s journey through life as he stumbled upon existential crises and couldn’t quite make sense of his traumatic past.

I Am Sam (2001)

A beautiful, yet traumatic story of a man with an intelligence level of a seven-year-old, who tries to convince that he is capable of keeping his young daughter Lucy safe and sound. Later, Penn’s Sam Dawson has to fight to keep his daughter with him, as Child Protective Services interferes in their living situation and tries to place Lucy in foster care.

Milk (2008)

Sean Penn’s Harvey Milk finds the determination to achieve something worthwhile in his life and decides to set for San Francisco with his lover Scott Smith. He then becomes the first openly gay man of the nation elected for a noteworthy public office position. The story focuses on the life of Harvey Milk who later has a tragic ending. Milk helped Penn win many accolades including Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actor, and Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble, among others!

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