List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn

List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn

Sean Penn is an American actor, director and producer. He has earned acclaim for his intense broody roles in dramatic films. Over his career he has received numerous accolades including three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Critics' Choice Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. In 2015, he received an Honorary César.

Penn's early roles include the teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), the crime drama Bad Boys (1983), and the war drama Casualties of War (1989). He earned the Venice International Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his role in Hurlyburly (1989). He played a sleazy lawyer in the Brian de Palma crime drama Carlito's Way (1993), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. He gained widespread acclaim for his portrayal of a killer on death row in the Tim Robbins crime drama Dead Man Walking (1995) earning him the Silver Bear for Best Actor as well as nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role.

For his role in the Nick Cassavettes romantic drama She's So Lovely (1997) he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. He earned further Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his performances as a jazz guitarist in Woody Allen's romance Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and a mentally challenged man in Jessie Nelson's drama I Am Sam (2001). He won his second Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his role in the Alejandro González Iñárritu crime thriller 21 Grams (2003). That same year, he played a grieving father in the Clint Eastwood drama Mystic River (2003) for which he won the Academy Awards for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama as well as nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role.

Penn directed the adventure drama Into the Wild (2007) for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film. The following year, he portrayed gay rights activist Harvey Milk in the Gus Van Sant political drama Milk (2008), for which he received his second Academy Award for Best Actor as well as the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role with nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

Major associations

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1996	Best Actor	Dead Man Walking	Nominated
2000	Sweet and Lowdown	Nominated
2002	I Am Sam	Nominated
2004	Mystic River	Won
2009	Milk	Won
2026	Best Supporting Actor	One Battle After Another	Won

Actor Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1996	Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role	Dead Man Walking	Nominated
2002	I Am Sam	Nominated
2004	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture	Mystic River	Nominated
Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role	Nominated
2009	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture	Milk	Nominated
Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role	Won
2026	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture	One Battle After Another	Nominated
Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Won

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2004	Best Actor in a Leading Role	Mystic River	Nominated
21 Grams	Nominated
2009	Milk	Nominated
2026	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	One Battle After Another	Won

Critics' Choice Awards

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominated work</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Critics' Choice Movie Awards</td></tr><tr><td>2002</td><td>Best Actor</td><td>I Am Sam</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>Mystic River</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>Best Director</td><td>Into the Wild</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Writer</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Best Actor</td><td>Milk</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Acting Ensemble</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>Best Supporting Actor</td><td>One Battle After Another</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Emmy Awards

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominated work</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>News & Documentary Emmy Awards</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary</td><td>Superpower</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Golden Globe Awards

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominated work</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1994</td><td>Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture</td><td>Carlito's Way</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1996</td><td>Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama</td><td>Dead Man Walking</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2000</td><td>Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy</td><td>Sweet and Lowdown</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama</td><td>Mystic River</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Milk</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture</td><td>One Battle After Another</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Grammy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2006	Best Spoken Word Album	Bob Dylan: Chronicles	Nominated

Other awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn

<table><thead><tr><th>Organizations</th><th>Year</th><th>Category</th><th>Work</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Berlin International Film Festival</td><td>1995</td><td>Silver Bear for Best Actor</td><td>Dead Man Walking</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>Berlinale Documentary Award</td><td>Superpower</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cannes Film Festival</td><td>1997</td><td>Best Actor</td><td>She's So Lovely</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>Palme d'Or</td><td>The Pledge</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>The Last Face</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Flag Day</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>César Awards</td><td>2003</td><td>Best European Union Film</td><td>September 11</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Best Foreign Film</td><td>Into the Wild</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Honorary César</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Directors Guild of America Awards</td><td>2007</td><td>Outstanding Directing – Feature Film</td><td>Into the Wild</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Independent Spirit Awards</td><td>1995</td><td>Best Male Lead</td><td>Dead Man Walking</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>Hurlyburly</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>Special Distinction Award</td><td>21 Grams</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>Best Male Lead</td><td>Milk</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Venice International Film Festival</td><td>1995</td><td>Golden Lion</td><td>The Crossing Guard</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>Volpi Cup for Best Actor</td><td>Hurlyburly</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2002</td><td>UNESCO Award</td><td>September 11</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>Volpi Cup for Best Actor</td><td>21 Grams</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Honorary awards

List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn

<table><thead><tr><th>Organizations</th><th>Year</th><th>Award</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>BAFTA\LA Britannia Award</td><td>2008</td><td>Stanley Kubrick Excellence in Film Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>César Awards</td><td>2015</td><td>Honorary César</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Critics' Choice Awards</td><td>2011</td><td>Joel Siegel Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hollywood Film Awards</td><td>2011</td><td>Humanitarian Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Producers Guild of America Award</td><td>2011</td><td>Stanley Kramer Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>San Francisco International Film Festival</td><td>1999</td><td>Peter J. Owens Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>San Sebastian International Film Festival</td><td>2003</td><td>Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Television Academy</td><td>2022</td><td>Bob Hope Humanitarian Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Zurich Film Festival</td><td>2011</td><td>Golden Icon Award</td><td>Honored</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>