SUMMARY
- Sean Penn joins a rare group of actors with three competitive Oscars.
- The win came for his supporting role in One Battle After Another.
- Penn did not attend the ceremony despite sweeping several awards this season.
LOS ANGELES — Actor Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actor at the 98th Academy Awards for portraying villain Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another, becoming one of only four men to win three competitive acting Oscars. The ceremony was held Sunday night in Los Angeles and broadcast on ABC.
Penn’s victory places him alongside historic acting winners in the Academy’s nearly century long history.
The award recognizes his supporting role performance in the Paul Thomas Anderson film One Battle After Another, where he portrays a ruthless military antagonist.
The result surprised some observers because Penn skipped most award ceremonies this season, including the Oscars themselves.
Penn previously won Best Actor twice: for Mystic River in 2004 and Milk in 2009. With his third acting Oscar, he joins Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis and Walter Brennan as the only men with three competitive acting Academy Awards.
Day-Lewis remains the only performer to win Best Actor three times, including for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln. Brennan’s wins came in the supporting category during the 1930s.
Across all acting categories, the record remains held by Katharine Hepburn, who won four Best Actress Oscars during a career spanning nearly five decades.
Film historian Thomas Doherty, a professor of American studies at Brandeis University, said Penn’s third Oscar reflects the Academy’s continued recognition of established actors.
“Sean Penn has a reputation for transformative roles that combine intensity and political complexity,” Doherty said. “Those kinds of performances often resonate with Academy voters.”
Clayton Davis, senior awards editor at Variety, said Penn’s absence from awards shows added intrigue to the race.
“It’s unusual to see a performer sweep major awards while rarely appearing in person,” Davis said. “But Penn’s performance clearly carried weight with voters.”
Presenter Kieran Culkin noted Penn’s absence while announcing the winner.
“Sean Penn couldn’t be here tonight or didn’t want to,” Culkin said during the broadcast. “So I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”
Film critic Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said Penn’s portrayal stood out in a competitive field.
“The role balances menace with psychological depth,” Chang said, noting the character’s complexity within the film’s narrative.
Industry analysts say Penn’s third Oscar strengthens his legacy as one of modern Hollywood’s most decorated performers.
The recognition may also increase attention on One Battle After Another during its global theatrical rollout.
Penn’s latest win expands a career already defined by acclaimed performances and places him among the most honored actors in Academy Awards history.
His absence from the ceremony added an unusual note to a milestone moment in Hollywood’s awards season.
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