Sean Penn Trivia Quiz

Answer: Santa Monica High

Sean Penn was born on August 17, 1960. He attended Santa Monica High School, where his friends included brothers Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, and Rob Lowe. They made amateur short films on Super 8 mm film.

Sean didn't go to college. Instead, he spent two years with the Los Angeles Repertory Company. There he worked backstage and did some cleaning and carrying, and he learned to act. He worked as an assistant to actor/director Pat Hingle. Sean directed a one-act play that was called "Terrible Jim Fitch". He also played in local theatre and studied under acting coach Peggy Feury.

Answer: Taps

Although "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", released in 1982, was the film that made Sean Penn a star, he had already played the role of Captain Alex Dwyer in "Taps", which was released in 1981. "Taps" was a movie about a group of cadets who took control of their school to prevent it from being torn down.

In "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", Sean played surfer Jeff Spicoli. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" is about a group of high school kids in Southern California. Before "Taps", Sean Penn had a few roles on TV. "The Falcon and the Snowman", released in 1985, is a story about two childhood friends who became spies for the Soviet Union. "Shanghai Surprise", released in 1986, is about a fortune hunter and a nurse who are looking for stolen drugs.

Answer: 1989

Sean Penn went through an angry, somewhat violent phase in his life during the time that he was married to Madonna. He was with Madonna from 1985 until 1989. During that time, he was even arrested for beating up a photographer.

Answer: Robin Wright

Sean lived with actress Robin Wright beginning in 1991. They had a daughter named Dylan and a son named Hopper Jack, who was named after Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. In 1996, Sean Penn and Robin Wright were married.

Answer: all of these

Friedrich Dürrenmatt wrote the book and Jerzy Kromolowski wrote the screenplay for "The Pledge", and Sean Penn directed the movie. "The Pledge", released in 2001, is about a retired Nevada sheriff who vows to find the killer of a young girl.

"The Indian Runner" and "The Crossing Guard" were both written and directed by Sean Penn. "The Crossing Guard", released in 1995 and starring Jack Nicholson, is about a man who is obsessed with killing the man who killed his daughter in a hit and run accident. "The Indian Runner", released in 1991, is about two very different brothers. One is a police officer and one is a Vietnam vet. "The Indian Runner", which was based on Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman", stars Viggo Mortensen, Charles Bronson, and Dennis Hopper.

Answer: Mystic River

Although Sean Penn starred in all of these movies, "Mystic River", released in 2003, is the only one of them in which Kevin Bacon also starred. "Mystic River" is about three men who were childhood friends. There were tragedies in both their childhoods and in their adult lives. During their childhood, one of them was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. In their adult lives, in which one is a cop and one had been in prison, a teenage daughter is murdered. "Casualties of War", released in 1989, is about a soldier during the Vietnam war who is trying to obtain justice for an atrocity committed by his fellow soldiers. "At Close Range", released in 1986, is about a boy and his friends who try to join a gang that is led by the boy's father.
Sean won an Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" for "Mystic River". He also shared the Boston Society of Film Critics award for best ensemble cast for "Mystic River", along with Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, and Tim Robbins. Sean Penn also won best actor awards for "Mystic River" from Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and the Central Ohio Film Critics Association. The Golden Globe was another award won by Sean Pean for his role in "Mystic River".
Sean won and was nominated for numerous other awards for "Mystic River" and his other movies, but there are too many to list.

Answer: Chris

Sean's brother Chris was an actor. "Footloose", released in 1984, "Pale Rider", released in 1985, and "Starsky and Hutch", released in 2004, were just three of the movies in which he had roles. Chris died in Santa Monica, California, on January 24, 2006.
Sean's brother Michael is a musician. Michael did the soundtrack for "Boogie Nights", released in 1997.
Sean didn't have a brother named Jimmy.
Sean's father was Leo Penn, who was an actor, writer and director. His mother was an actress named Eileen Ryan, who appeared in shows such as "Bonanza" and "Marcus Welby, MD".

Answer: He was grabbed by someone holding a gun.

Sean was grabbed by a man with a gun, and held in front of the man as a shield from the police. Sean shouted, "Don't shoot! It's all right, man, calm down!"
When he was forced out into the street, he found cameras rolling and his co-star, Woody Harrelson, laughing. Later on, Sean got payback. He pretended their vehicle got stuck while driving through the outback. When Woody got out to push, Sean took off, stranding him there. "The Thin Red Line" is about the battle of Guadalcanal in World War Two.

Answer: I am Sam

"I am Sam" was released on January 25, 2002. Michelle Pfeiffer and Dakota Fanning also star in this movie. In the movie, Sean's character, Sam, gets a homeless woman pregnant, and he raises the child. However, when his daughter is in school, the situation is discovered and his daughter is taken away from him. Sam gets a lawyer to take on his case for free, as he fights to regain custody of his daughter. "Sweet and Lowdown", released in 1999, is about the life of a jazz guitarist. "She's So Lovely", released in 1997, is about a pregnant woman whose husband is missing, and who is beaten and almost raped by her neighbour.

The movie also covers what happens when the woman's husband returns.

Answer: Hurricane Katrina

Sean Penn helped to rescue people stranded in their homes and in the water in New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina, which hit in 2005. Unfortunately, he had a bit of a slow start. Apparently the boat that he was in started taking on water, and he had to bail with a cup.