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In a September 27, 2025, interview with The New York Times, actor-director Sean Penn stated that America needs “more people like Charlie Kirk” in politics, even though he disagreed with “almost everything” the conservative activist believed in.
Sean Penn’s remarks come shortly after Kirk’s death on September 10, 2025, during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was 31. The actor said that open debate and mutual understanding are crucial for addressing social and political divisions.
Speaking to the New York Times, Sean Penn reportedly said,
"We need that debate. We’ve gotta fight it out and find a compromise. [Acts of political violence] do come into fashion, and the way we kill the fashion of it is people of conscience on both sides recognizing that if somebody really believes something, that’s your friend."
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More on what Sean Penn said about tolerance for differing beliefs
The award-winning actor-director said that differing viewpoints should be recognized as “valid opinions,” even when they clash sharply. He used the debate over reproductive rights as an example, saying that people often fail to understand opposing perspectives.
“I’m talking about if somebody believes that a human being starts at conception, if you can’t understand that concept, you’re just stupid. And if you’re not willing to tolerate the concept as a concept that’s held as deeply as I may have a belief that, I don’t know, let the woman decide. All of these are valid opinions.”
Sean Penn is only the latest big Hollywood name to speak out following the death of Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality. Following Charlie Kirk’s death on September 10, 2025, several Hollywood figures publicly shared their reactions.
As reported by Variety on September 27, 2025, celebrities including Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Keaton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Amanda Seyfried expressed condolences.
President Donald Trump also commented on Truth Social on the day of Charlie Kirk's death, calling the activist "legendary."
Sean Penn on Playing Colonel Lockjaw in One Battle After Another
Sean Penn is coming back to acting in his latest role as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another after briefly stepping away from filmmaking. Speaking with Vanity Fair on September 24, 2025, Penn described the project as a turning point, praising both the script and Anderson’s reputation as a director for drawing him back.
Penn said he was convinced of the role within a few pages of reading the script, citing Anderson’s unpredictability and the story’s urgency, adding that Anderson’s films rarely follow a single pattern. He said,
"I remember the words ‘he’s going there’ going through my head."
The character of Colonel Lockjaw, who is a ruthless military leader hunting down ex-revolutionaries played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor, was, in Penn’s words, a chance to work with “really good writing” that shapes the actor’s choices rather than the other way around.
The timing of the film’s release, which came out on September 26, 2025, added another layer for the Academy Award-winning actor-director. The untimely death of Charlie Kirk less than 24 hours before Sean Penn’s interview cast what he called a “disturbing” shadow over the project. While Penn declined to elaborate on Kirk’s death, he admitted the incident made the story feel “exponentially more timely” than when production began.
Comparing the experience to previous roles, Penn pointed to Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown as another project where strong writing dictated his performance. He emphasized that Anderson, like Allen, provides actors with material that “feels like music,” allowing them to focus on character rather than invention.
"Some movies, you’re looking to find an organic thing every day. I prefer to be an actor."
Sean Penn on acting, directing, and activism
After the 2025 release of One Battle After Another and the 2023 film Daddio, Sean Penn told Vanity Fair he has no immediate plans to look for more acting roles. Instead, his attention is shifting toward directing, with his next project already in development alongside English actor Tom Hardy.
Penn revealed that the yet untitled film is scheduled to begin production in summer 2026 after Hardy finishes work on the crime drama series MobLand. While Sean Penn did not say much more about the film, he said he was drawn to Hardy’s “extraordinary” talent.
" I’m making a movie with Tom Hardy, which we can’t shoot until next summer because Tom is busy with the mob show [MobLand]. I just think he’s extraordinary."
Talking about his past directing experiences, Sean Penn admitted to one “terrible” project but said most had been positive. He credited both Daddio and One Battle After Another with restoring his enthusiasm for filmmaking after a period when he felt disconnected from acting.
"You’ve got to be in something you love, and with people you love, to make it really anything but miserable."
Outside of film, Sean Penn continues his long-standing involvement in activism, from disaster relief efforts through his organization CORE to speaking out on political crises such as the war in Ukraine. Asked about balancing activism with creative work, Penn said he tries to stay constructive without being consumed by constant struggle. He described splitting his focus between responding to urgent issues and appreciating what he called “the magic cosmos of it all,” often finding clarity through "woodwork."
"Devote one eye to the anguish, and that same eye is always looking for where you may be able to be some value added. And the other eye, I’d say this is about a three-plus-year-old phenomenon in my life—better late than never—the other eye takes in the magic f*****g cosmos of it all. I just eat it up. And do a lot of woodwork."
As for whether public figures should speak out more on political matters, Sean Penn said he avoids prescribing obligations for others but acknowledged his own history of outspoken commentary.
“God knows I’ve not been shy."
For now, he said, directing offers the chance to create work that reflects both his artistic interests and personal convictions, with the Tom Hardy collaboration marking his next step behind the camera.
