Sean Penn gave one of his Oscars to Zelensky after ditching the ceremony

Sean Penn missed one of the biggest moments of his career after winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in the political drama One Battle After Another. Instead of attending the ceremony in Los Angeles, the 65-year-old actor traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The victory marked Penn’s third Oscar. He previously won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Mystic River and for Milk.

His absence was noticed during the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, where presenter Kieran Culkin acknowledged that the actor was not present to receive the award in person.

The win capped a strong awards season for Penn, whose performance in One Battle After Another had been widely praised by critics. In the film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Penn portrays Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw.

The production, which features an ensemble cast including Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro, became one of the most talked-about films of the year. Penn ultimately prevailed over fellow nominees Delroy Lindo, Jacob Elordi and Stellan Skarsgård. As the envelope was opened during the ceremony, Culkin addressed the actor’s absence, telling the audience: 

«Sean Penn couldn’t be here tonight, or he didn’t want to.»

While Hollywood celebrated the victory, Penn was thousands of miles away in Ukraine, continuing his public support for the country during its war with Russia. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shared a photograph with the actor on X following their meeting. In the message accompanying the photo, Zelensky highlighted Penn’s commitment to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion. «Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is.

You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war. This is still true today. And we know that you will continue to stand with our country and our people,» Zelensky wrote.

Penn has been one of the most visible Hollywood figures supporting Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The actor was in Kyiv when the invasion began while filming a documentary about the conflict and later returned several times to meet Zelensky and Ukrainian officials.

During one of those visits, Penn handed one of his Oscar statuettes to the Ukrainian president as a symbolic gesture of solidarity. The award he left in Kyiv was one of the two Best Actor Oscars he received earlier in his career, honoring his performances in Mystic River and Milk.

His continued presence in Ukraine comes as the country faces ongoing military pressure and uncertainty about international support. Ukrainian forces remain engaged in heavy fighting across several regions as the war continues more than three years after Russia’s invasion.

At the same time, geopolitical attention in Washington has increasingly shifted toward the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran, drawing diplomatic focus and military resources away from Eastern Europe. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that maintaining global attention and assistance remains critical as the war enters another difficult stage.

For Penn, the decision to travel to Ukraine instead of attending the Oscars reflects a pattern that has defined much of his public life in recent years. The actor has repeatedly used his platform to advocate for political and humanitarian causes around the world.

By choosing to be in Kyiv on the night he won his third Academy Award, Penn again prioritized his activism over Hollywood ceremony, reinforcing the message that his support for Ukraine remains ongoing even as international attention shifts to other global crises.