00:00And the Oscar goes to Sean Penn, One Battle After Another.
00:05When the winner for Best Supporting Actor was announced at the 2026 Oscars,
00:09one name stood out, not just because he won, but because he wasn't there to accept the award.
00:14Sean Penn had just earned his third Academy Award for his role as the intense military fanatic
00:19Stephen J. Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson's film One Battle After Another.
00:23But while Hollywood's biggest night was unfolding in Los Angeles, Penn was reportedly
00:27thousands of miles away. According to reports from the New York Times, the 65-year-old actor had
00:32flown to Europe instead of attending the ceremony. Sources speaking anonymously said that as of late
00:37the previous week, Penn's plan was to visit Ukraine. Exactly what he intended to do there wasn't clear.
00:42The sources did not specify where within the country he planned to go or what activities he
00:47had scheduled. There was also a possibility that his travel plans might have changed.
00:51Back at the Oscar ceremony, presenter Kieran Culkin acknowledged the unusual absence.
00:56Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening, or didn't want to, so I'll be accepting the award on his
01:01behalf. Penn's victory came after a competitive race. Other nominees included Stellan SkarsgÄrd for
01:07Sentimental Value, Benicio Del Toro for One Battle After Another, Delroy Lindo for Sinners, and Jacob
01:13Elordi for Frankenstein. The win marks Penn's third Oscar, placing him among a small group of acting
01:19legends who have achieved that milestone. Earlier in his career, he won Best Actor for Mystic River in 2004,
01:24and Milk in 2009. In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, Penn's win had already seemed likely.
01:30He had taken home major awards for the same performance, including honors from the Screen
01:34Actors Guild and the BAFTAs, but he was absent from those ceremonies as well. Penn's decision to
01:39travel to Ukraine instead of attending the Oscars also reflects his longstanding involvement with the
01:43country. Since Russia's invasion in 2022, the actor has spent significant time there, including filming the
01:49documentary Superpower and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During one visit,
01:55Penn even handed over one of his own Oscar statuettes to Zelensky as a symbol of support.
02:00The actor suggested the award could be melted down into bullets to help Ukraine defend itself,
02:04though he also joked that it should be returned to him when the war is won.
02:08For Sean Penn, activism has often gone hand in hand with his career, and on the night he earned his
02:13third Oscar, it appears that commitment once again took priority over Hollywood's spotlight.
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