Why Sean Penn Missed Out on Accepting His Third Oscar Win in Person
Why Sean Penn Missed Out on Accepting His Third Oscar Win in Person
Tommy McArdleMon, March 16, 2026 at 1:46 AM UTC
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Sean Penn in 'One Battle After Another'Credit: Warner Bros. -
Sean Penn did not attend the 2026 Oscars on Sunday, March 15, even though he won his third career Academy Award
Penn received the Best Supporting Actor prize for his performance in 2025's One Battle After Another
The actor left the U.S. last week and intended to go to Ukraine rather than attend the ceremony, per The New York Times
Sean Penn did not attend the 2026 Oscars, even though he won his third Academy Award at the ceremony.
Penn, 65, received the 98th Academy Awards' Best Supporting Actor prize for his performance in One Battle After Another on Sunday, March 15, but the actor was not in the country as the ceremony was underway in Los Angeles. The New York Times reported following Penn's win that Penn traveled to Europe in the days before the Oscars and that his plan "as of late last week" was to spend time in Ukraine rather than attend the show, citing two people who spoke anonymously.
Those two sources did not tell the Times what Penn intended to do in Ukraine or where within the country, which remains at war with Russia, he may have visited. Kieran Culkin, who won the same category for his work in A Real Pain last year, accepted the award on the actor's behalf and joked: "Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening, or didn't want to, so I'll be accepting the award on his behalf."
PEOPLE has reached out to Penn's representatives for comment.
Kieran Culkin at the 98th Oscars on March 15, 2026; Sean Penn in One Battle After AnotherCredit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty; Warner Bros.
Penn previously took home the Best Actor Oscar for his work in Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009. He has also been nominated for Oscars in the past for his performances in the movies Dead Man Walking, Sweet and Lowdown and I Am Sam.
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Penn has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the years since Russia invaded the Eastern European country in February 2022. “The Oscars producer thought, ‘Oh, he’s not light-hearted enough.’ Well, guess what you got instead? Will Smith?" Penn told Variety in a September 2023 interview, noting that the 2022 Oscars became best remembered for Will Smith slapping Chris Rock mid-show.
“I thought, well, f---, you know? I’ll give them to Ukraine. They can be melted down to bullets they can shoot at the Russians," he said of giving one of his Oscar statuettes to Zelenskyy at the time.
Sean Penn in One Battle After AnotherCredit: Warner Bros.
In a video that Zelenskyy shared to Instagram in November 2022, Penn could seen handing the Oscar to the Ukrainian leader during their meeting in the country's capital, Kyiv. "It's just a symbolic, silly thing, but if I know this is here with you, then I'll feel better and strong enough for the fights," Penn told Zelenskyy in the clip. "When you win, bring it back to Malibu because I'll feel much better knowing there's a piece of me here."
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See PEOPLE's coverage of the 98th Academy Awards, airing live on ABC and Hulu on March 15.
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