Sean Penn is one of the most accomplished and well-respected actors in the history of Hollywood. After gaining experience through a few TV episodes in the late '70s and early '80s, Penn finally made his big-screen debut in the 1981 movie Taps. In 1996 he won his first Oscar for his intense performance in Dead Man Walking and won a second Oscar in 2004 for his searing work in Mystic River.
In the latter stage of his career, Penn began to shift his focus from acting to directing, narrating documentaries, and continuing his humanitarian causes around the world. As for the acting, here are Sean Penn's 10 best movies (non-documentary), according to Rotten Tomatoes!
Colors (1988) 82%
The late Dennis Hopper directed Penn and co-star Robert Duvall in Colors, a thrilling tale of escalating gangland violence in Los Angeles. Unfortunately for Penn, he took his role a little too seriously. After assaulting a photographer on set, Penn was given a 33-day prison sentence in 1987!
Story-wise, the plot concerns an odd-couple of law enforcers. With gangland violence increasing at an alarming rate, grizzled vet Bob Hodges (Duvall) takes rookie cop Danny McGavin (Penn) under his wing.
Casualties Of War (1989) 83%
Brian De Palma's controversial war-drama Casualties of War features one of Penn's most demanding roles of his career. As the ringleader of a troop of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, Sgt. Tony Meserve (Penn) orders the kidnap and vicious gang-rape of a Vietnamese civilian.
The only soldier with a conscience in the whole platoon is Ericksson (Michael J. Fox), who vows to stop his squad from unnecessarily kidnapping a young Vietnamese woman and subjecting her to severe abuse.
State Of Grace (1990) 84%
Penn shares the screen with Ed Harris and Mickey Rourke in the 1990 Irish mob movie State of Grace, in which he plays a small-time hood returning to action following a decade-long absence.
Upon returning to Hell's Kitchen, Terry Noonan (Penn) s the likes of his boyhood pal Jackie Flannery (Rourke) and his father Frankie (Harris), both of whom are involved in the Irish mafia. All goes smoothly until Terry takes a shine to Jackie's sister, Kathleen (Robin Wright, Penn's eventual wife). When tempers flare, loyalties are tested.
Tree Of Life (2011) 84%
Penn sprouts a whirlwind of existential angst in Terence Malick's Tree of Life, a sprawling dramatic-fantasy that strays from the conventional narrative.
The movie charts the evolution of Jack O'Brien, who spends his time as a boy in 1956 Waco, Texas. As an adult, Jack (Penn) has difficulty adjusting to the modern material world as he desperately searches for the meaning of life. The oppressive specter of Jack's father, Mr. O'Brien (Brad Pitt) continues to haunt Jack on his quest for clarity.
At Close Range (1986) 87%
Penn co-stars opposite his late brother Chris as well as Christopher Walken in the gritty crime film At Close Range, the sophomore effort from director James Foley.
Set in 1978 Pennsylvania, the film follows two wayward teenagers heading down the wrong path in the absence of their father. However, when Brad Sr. (Walken) returns to town, his sons Tommy (Chris) and Brad Jr. (Sean) can't help but become enamored by his life of violent crime.
Mystic River (2003) 88%
Penn won his first Academy Award for Best Leading Actor in Mystic River, the prestigious crime film directed by Clint Eastwood.
Based on Dennis Lehane's novel, the story revolves around the mysterious murder of Katie Markum (Emmy Rossum). Katie's father Jimmy (Penn), an ex-con whose best friend Dave (Tim Robbins) becomes the prime suspect, mounts a dogged effort to find the killer. For help, Jimmy turns to childhood friend Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), a homicide detective assigned to the case.
Bad Boys (1982) 89%
Before Martin Lawrence and Will Smith were branded Bad Boys, Penn had his own correctional issues to overcome in the 1982 film of the same name.
Penn plays a bad seed named Mick O'Brien, a troubled young man who faces reform after killing his arch enemy's little brother. Charged with vehicular manslaughter, Mick is sent to a juvenile correctional facility. However, when Mick's rival Paco (Esai Morales) threatens to rape his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy) in revenge, he must figure out a way to protect her from the inside.
Milk (2008) 93%
Penn won his second Best Leading Actor Oscar for his portrayal of real-life civil rights champion Harvey Milk, the first openly gay San Francisco elected official.
Directed by Gus Van Sant, Milk charts the personal and professional challenges Harvey faced in organizing the first gay political movement in America. While juggling his romance with campaign manager Scott Smith, Harvey was eventually elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978.
Dead Man Walking (1995) 95%
Based on a true story, Penn plays convicted death row murderer Matthew Poncelet in Dead Man Walking, in which he earned an Academy Award nomination. His screen partner, Susan Sarandon, did go on to win the gold statuette!
The crux of the drama concerns Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon), a merciful nun who counsels Matthew in the days ticking down to his death by execution. As Sister Prejean helps Matthew unlock his tortured soul, they race to be granted a stay of execution.
Persepolis (2006) 96%
Penn rarely lends his voice to animated features, but in 2006, he did so for the eventual Best Animated Feature winner at the 2007 Oscars.
Persepolis celebrates female independence in a story of a rebellious Iranian girl who comes of age amid the Islamic Revolution. Undeterred by the traditional repression of her homeland, Marjane Satrapi (Chiara Mastroianni) begins speaking out against the violent regime. Her parents send her to Vienna as a result, but when Marjane returns to her home, she can't quite figure out her place in the world. Penn voices Marjane's father, Mr. Satrapi, in the film.
