Sean Penn lastly acquired his palms on his third Oscar… kind of.
The “One Battle After Another” star, who was a no-show on the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday when he won the best supporting actor Oscar for that movie, was seen in a video published on social media on Tuesday receiving a makeshift version of the statuette in Ukraine.
Published to the Instagram account for Ukraine Railways, also called Ukrzaliznytsia, the clip confirmed the 65-year-old actor, activist and humanitarian receiving a flat, metallic trophy in the unmistakable silhouette of the Academy Award.
Sean Penn given ‘Oscar’ in Ukraine
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, CEO of Ukrainian Railways based on Reuters, informed Penn in the video that as a result of he missed the Oscars, Pertsovskyi had the prize ready in recognition of the star’s presence in and assist of Ukraine.
Referencing the truth that Penn had previously given one in every of his different Oscars to Ukraine, Pertsovskyi defined that the brand new gong was produced from the metallic of a Ukrainian railcar that survived harm from a Russian assault.
He additionally gestured to an inscription on the makeshift Oscar, saying, it’s “very special to us.”
“It’s not golden, but it’s very real and from the bottom of our hearts, Sean,” Pertsovskyi mentioned in the video.
“These are all treasures, thank you,” Penn replied after embracing the opposite man.
The inscription reads, “This steel once carried millions of people away from war. Then a Russian missile came. We did not melt it into a weapon. We forged it into gratitude — for you. For your talent. For your courage to stand with Ukraine.”
“This award isn’t limited to achievements in cinema—it celebrates resilience, humanity and courage that keeps us all going,” the caption for the submit learn, in half.
While there was no affirmation forward of time, there was heavy hypothesis earlier than the Oscars have been underway on Sunday that Penn wouldn’t attend the ceremony. Aside from a cigarette-smoking appearance at the Golden Globes at the start of award season in January, the veteran actor had skipped the opposite distinguished award circuit occasions, together with the BAFTAs and the Actor Awards — each of which he gained in his class.
Sure sufficient, when his class got here up roughly halfway by way of the Oscars telecast on Sunday, Penn was not current on the Dolby Theater. Presenter Kieran Culkin, who was final 12 months’s greatest supporting actor winner, intoned the requisite “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening,” however then inserted, “or didn’t want to,” earlier than ending with, “so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”
As hypothesis continued as to Penn’s whereabouts, a social media post from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday referenced the actor’s go to to Ukraine and included a brand new image of the pair.
Penn has a protracted historical past with Ukraine and Zelensky, as depicted in his 2023 documentary “Superpower.” That movie, which Penn additionally co-directed, documented his presence in the nation at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, and likewise confirmed him bestowing one of his previously won Oscars to the Ukrainian president in a present of solidarity.
Before Penn’s win for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle” this weekend, he had beforehand gained Academy Awards in the lead actor class for 2003’s “Mystic River” and 2008’s “Milk.”