2 months ago
Sean Penn skipped Hollywood’s biggest nighttime and still walked distant pinch a trophy … conscionable not nan 1 you’d expect.
The 65-year-old character bailed connected Sunday night’s Academy Awards, wherever he won champion supporting character for “One Battle After Another,” choosing alternatively to alert to war-torn Ukraine.
While A-listers gathered astatine nan Dolby Theatre successful Los Angeles, Penn was gathering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky successful Kyiv Monday — doubling down connected his long-running support for nan state amid its ongoing warfare pinch Russia.
But Ukraine wasn’t astir to fto nan Oscar victor caput backmost to nan US empty-handed.
In a striking infinitesimal caught connected video posted to X, Ukrainian Railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi presented Penn pinch a one-of-a-kind “IronOscar” — a handmade statuette forged from metallic taken from a railcar destroyed by a Russian missile.
“You’re missing nan Oscars,” Pertsovskyi told him. “Plus, you gave nan past 1 to nan president. So we made this one.
“You said nan metals survived, truthful we put immoderate words present that are very typical to us. It’s not golden, but it’s very real, and it’s from nan bottommost of our hearts. It’s important to us.”
An affectional Penn embraced Pertsovskyi, replying simply: “These are each treasures, convey you.”
Sean Penn opted for nan travel to 🇺🇦 vs. Oscar ceremonial astatine Dolby Theater wherever he was awarded his 3rd 🏆. We couldn't time off our awesome friend and loyal Ukrainian Raiwlays rider without an award. So, I person presented Sean pinch our IronOscar connected behalf of each of us! pic.twitter.com/OLyzOY4h7L
— Oleksandr Pertsovskyi (@Pertsovskyi_O) March 17, 2026The makeshift grant comes pinch a powerful inscription etched into its back:
“This alloy erstwhile carried millions of group distant from war. Then a Russian rocket came. We did not melt it into a weapon. We forged it into gratitude — for you. For your talent. For your courageousness to guidelines pinch Ukraine.”
Penn’s absence didn’t spell unnoticed backmost successful Hollywood.
Actor Kieran Culkin, who announced nan category, took a playful jab: “Sean Penn couldn’t beryllium present this evening, aliases didn’t want to, truthful I’ll beryllium accepting nan grant connected his behalf.”
Sources told nan New York Times that Penn had planned nan Ukraine travel days successful advance, opting for nan sojourn complete attending nan ceremonial contempt going connected to clinch his 3rd Oscar.
Penn’s relationship to Ukraine runs deep.
He’s visited aggregate times since Russia’s 2022 invasion, moreover filming a documentary astir Zelensky’s translator from comedian to wartime leader. The movie premiered successful 2023 and helped cement what some men picture arsenic a adjacent friendship.
In 2022, Penn handed 1 of his ain Oscar statuettes to Zelensky — telling him to return it only aft Ukraine wins nan war.
The actor’s latest Oscar puts him successful uncommon institution among acting heavyweights pinch 3 Academy Awards, joining Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep and Ingrid Bergman.
Penn antecedently won champion character for starring turns successful “Mystic River” successful 2004 and “Milk” successful 2009.
Still, his Oscars absence wasn’t a full shock, arsenic he besides missed nan Actor Awards successful Los Angeles earlier this period and nan BAFTAs successful London successful February.
This time, Penn’s no-show was different reminder that erstwhile it comes to awards season, he plays by his ain rules.
