Actor and director Sean Penn presented one of his two Best Actor Oscars to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A symbolic gesture and a new show of support from the star to Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion which began in February 2022.
Sean Penn, big Hollywood supporter of Volodymyr Zelensky
Currently in kyiv, actor and director Sean Penn offered in a symbolic gesture one of his Oscars to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. The actor of Mystic River and Harvey Milk – films for which he was awarded two Oscars for Best Actor -, was already in Ukraine during the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. He had fled the country on foot on March 3. He is undoubtedly the Hollywood star who has shown his support for Ukraine the most, a support which he has therefore shown again by giving Volodymyr Zelensky one of his statuettes.
It was Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, who filmed this new meeting between the two men and posted it on Twitter.
In this video, Sean Penn can be heard saying:
It’s a small token thing, but knowing it’s here will make me feel better and stronger about the fights. (…) When you have won (the war, editor’s note), you can bring it back to Malibu. I feel better knowing that there is a part of me here.
Sean Penn honored by Ukraine
In this same video, we also see the Ukrainian president giving the actor a medal of the Order of Merit, a distinction that rewards exceptional actions. Unlike the Oscar, this award is not only symbolic and is an official decoration of the Ukrainian state. What Volodymyr Zelensky specifies:
This is not from me, but from Ukraine. So it’s more than my personal recognition.
In addition, the two men, surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, also inaugurated a commemorative plaque in honor of Sean Penn, still in kyiv. The latter then showed himself touched, explaining: “There are three places in the world that mean the most to me. The place where my daughter was born, the place where my son was born, and here. Thanks.“
