Sean Penn, who won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in “One Battle After Another,” skipped Sunday night’s ceremony, leading some to wonder where the actor and filmmaker is.
Penn played the evil nemesis of Leonardo DiCaprio in the action thriller, and while it has not been officially released why Penn skipped the major Hollywood event, the New York Times reported Penn was possibly in Europe, where he had plans to visit Ukraine, citing two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
The people did not specify what he would be doing there or where precisely within the country he would be going, according to New York Times.
USA TODAY has reached out to Penn’s rep for information on why Penn was absent from the ceremony.
During the ceremony, the presenter for the supporting actor category, Kieran Culkin, said, “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening, or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”
Penn has previously won two Academy Awards − one for his performance in “Milk” and another for his role in “Mystic River.”
Penn has long advocated for Ukraine and even gifted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy an Oscar in 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine and the two countries went to war, reported USA TODAY. He is the recipient of Ukraine’s Order of Merit in the third degree for his “sincere support and significant contribution to the popularization of Ukraine in the world.
His documentary, “Superpower,” followed the events happening in Ukraine and the “truth about Russia’s invasion of the country,” according to IMDB.
USA TODAY contributed to this story.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on x; natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Why didn’t Sean Penn go to the Oscars? What we know about the no-show
Reporting by Natassia Paloma, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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