00:01Your presence here means...
00:03Okay, so we learned you're missing Oscars.
00:06So we made that, and plus you gave some props to the president.
00:11So we made this one.
00:12This is from the rail of the rail car that was damaged by the Russians.
00:17We said the metal survived, so we put some words on here.
00:20It's very special to us.
00:22It's not golden, but it's very real and from the bottom of our car.
00:28They're all treasures, thank you.
00:31And the Oscar goes to...
00:33Sean Penn, One Battle After Another.
00:36When the winner for Best Supporting Actor was announced at the 2026 Oscars,
00:40one name stood out, not just because he won,
00:43but because he wasn't there to accept the award.
00:45Sean Penn had just earned his third Academy Award for his role
00:48as the intense military fanatic Steven J. Lockjaw
00:51in Paul Thomas Anderson's film One Battle After Another.
00:54But while Hollywood's biggest night was unfolding in Los Angeles,
00:57Penn was reportedly thousands of miles away.
01:00According to reports from the New York Times,
01:01the 65-year-old actor had flown to Europe instead of attending the ceremony.
01:05Sources speaking anonymously said that as of late the previous week,
01:09Penn's plan was to visit Ukraine.
01:11Exactly what he intended to do there wasn't clear.
01:13The sources did not specify where within the country he planned to go,
01:17or what activities he had scheduled.
01:18There was also a possibility that his travel plans might have changed.
01:21Back at the Oscar ceremony, presenter Kieran Culkin acknowledged the unusual absence.
01:27Sean Penn couldn't be here this evening, or didn't want to,
01:31so I'll be accepting the award on his behalf.
01:33Penn's victory came after a competitive race.
01:36Other nominees included Stellan SkarsgĂĽrd for Sentimental Value,
01:40Benicio Del Toro for One Battle After Another,
01:42Delroy Lindo for Sinners, and Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein.
01:46The win marks Penn's third Oscar, placing him among a small group of acting legends
01:50who have achieved that milestone.
01:52Earlier in his career, he won Best Actor for Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009.
01:57In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, Penn's win had already seemed likely.
02:01He had taken home major awards for the same performance,
02:04including honors from the Screen Actors Guild and the BAFTAs,
02:06but he was absent from those ceremonies as well.
02:09Penn's decision to travel to Ukraine instead of attending the Oscars
02:12also reflects his longstanding involvement with the country.
02:14Since Russia's invasion in 2022, the actor has spent significant time there,
02:19including filming the documentary Superpower
02:21and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
02:25During one visit, Penn even handed over one of his own Oscar statuettes to Zelensky
02:29as a symbol of support.
02:31The actor suggested the award could be melted down into bullets
02:34to help Ukraine defend itself,
02:35though he also joked that it should be returned to him when the war is won.
02:39For Sean Penn, activism has often gone hand-in-hand with his career,
02:42and on the night he earned his third Oscar,
02:45it appears that commitment once again took priority over Hollywood's spotlight.
Comments