The mystery of Sean Penn’s whereabouts on Sunday night during the 2026 Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, where he won the best supporting actor award for his role in One Battle After Another, has seemingly been solved: he was in Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who posted a photo of their meeting on Monday.
Penn’s absence from the ceremony wasn’t a major surprise to those paying attention, as speculation grew about his attendance in the week ahead of the awards. It became a bigger question when his name was called from the Dolby Theatre stage by last year’s best supporting actor winner, Kieran Culkin; the actor told the A-list crowd, “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening — or didn’t want to — so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”
On Sunday, The New York Times, citing two sources close to the actor, reported that Penn was in Ukraine on Oscar night. On Monday, President Zelensky posted an image of Penn and himself sitting in office chairs as they appear to be in conversation. In the X post, he thanked the actor and praised his commitment to the country as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s invasion.
“Sean, thanks to you, we know what a true friend of Ukraine is,” Zelensky wrote. “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.”
Superpower, Penn and Aaron Kaufman’s documentary on Ukraine and Zelensky, was released in 2023. It uses Penn’s perspective to tell the actor-turned-wartime-president’s atypical story. In addition to his support of Ukraine as it has fended off Russia since its 2022 invasion, he has been known for his high-profile humanitarian work in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Penn won the best actor Oscar for the 2003 thriller Mystic River and for the Harvey Milk biopic Milk in 2009. He was also nominated in that category for Dead Man Walking, Sweet and Lowdown and I Am Sam. With this third Oscar, he tied the record for most acting wins by a male performer, joining Jack Nicholson, Walter Brennan and Daniel Day-Lewis.
