Sean Penn received another very special Oscar during his visit to Ukraine

The actor skipped the Academy Awards ceremony to go to kyiv and see his friend President Zelensky.

“Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening or didn’t want to. So I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf”, Kieran Culkin rocked on stage at the Dolby Theater last Sunday.

At the 2026 Oscars, the teamOne battle after another was almost complete… Only Sean Penn was missing. He received the Oscar for best supporting role for his rather masterful interpretation of Steven J. Lockjaw, an American commander full of tics and a very particular approach. However, on March 15, the actor Mystic River had other fish to fry…

A rather unexpected excuse. If some are with their loved ones or on the other side of the world filming, Sean Penn had a meeting with the Ukrainian president. Volodymyr Zelensky posted a photo with Sean Penn on his account Xto thank the actor for his commitment: “Sean, thank you, we know you are a true ally of Ukraine. You have stood with Ukraine since the first day of war. This is still true today. And we know that you will continue to support our country and its people.”

At last year’s Lumière festival, Penn discussed his activism in particular through his documentary Superpowerco-directed with Aaron Kaufman, who recounts his meetings with Zelensky. This commitment is an extremely important part of his life, just like cinema or his hobbies: “ I don’t know if I know the difference between getting up in the morning and going to my workshop and building a piece of furniture, or spending time on a movie set and acting or directing a film, or all the things I did while working in the NGO space or with the documentary Superpower”, declared the actor.

A somewhat strange but very real scene occurred a few days after the ceremony… In kyiv, another Oscar, a somewhat unusual one, awaited the actor… The Ukrainian railway company presented Sean Penn with a statuette made from the remains of a “wagon damaged by Russian attack“. A perfect imitation of the famous American award, less shiny but highly symbolic.

“THANKS, these prices are all treasures” reacted the actor after hugging Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, the head of Ukrainian railways.

With his role in One battle after anotherthe star won his third Oscar after Mystic River (2004) and Harvey Milk (2009). In 2022, he lent one of his two Oscars to the Ukrainian president, declaring: “When you win, bring him back to Malibu for me. I feel better knowing that a part of me is here.”