Sean Penn wins third Oscar but skips the 98th Academy Awards ceremony

2026-03-16 - 05:44

Sean Penn has added another Academy Award to his career at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night, but the actor was not present to accept the honor in person. Penn won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the villainous Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. However, the actor was reportedly out of the country and unable to attend the ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Presenter Kieran Culkin, who won the same category last year for A Real Pain, accepted the award on Penn’s behalf and made a lighthearted remark about the actor’s absence. “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening, or didn’t want to,” Culkin joked while taking the stage. The win marks Penn’s third Academy Award. He previously won Best Actor for his performances in Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009. Over the years, he has also received nominations for films including Dead Man Walking, Sweet and Lowdown and I Am Sam. Penn had already taken home Best Supporting Actor prizes earlier in the awards season, including honors at the BAFTA Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, though he was also absent from those ceremonies. At the Oscars, Penn beat out a competitive field of nominees that included his One Battle After Another co-star Benicio del Toro, Stellan Skarsgård for Sentimental Value, Delroy Lindo for Sinners and Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein. Sean Penn did attend the Golden Globe Awards back in January, but lost out in the best supporting actor category to Skarsgard.