Sean Penn on ‘Joy Greatest’ of working with his children, a new movie

Sean Penn is about taking a chance – on and off the screen.

From his various Oscar victories to be a proud father of two, Penn goes in with whatever he does, and with the knowledge that following his gut usually achieves the best results. In a unique interview with Weekly USThe actor, 64, recalled one particular risk where he chose to cast the daughter Dylan and her son Hopper, then in their 20s, in his thriller 2021 Banner. It is a decision that he will never regret as a filmmaker or dad – even when some parents’ concern inevitably kicks in.

“I don’t know if this is true of everyone, (but) the greatest joy (in life) is often a relief. This is when you take a chance with something, you invest in. And sometimes with so much excitement, you forget the risk you put yourself or someone else in,” says Penn Words of War. “And when I’ve asked my son Hopper or daughter Dylan to do something like acting in a movie, you only realize, ‘Jesus, this could have been a setup for their shame.’ And then to prove that relief when they are great … it’s exciting to do. ”

Penn admits that some of the motivation is behind the decision to cast his children, which he shares with ex-wife R.Obin Wrightin selfishness. “I sleep best (when) my children stay too late in a barbecue that goes into the night and passes out here and I know everyone is close to Us.

But that kind of first heart thinking that has led him to his decades decades long as an actor, director and executive producer, and his latest risk -taking initiative comes in form Words of War. The film is based on the life and career of the journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskayawho reported on political and social events inside Russia in the early 2000s until it was murdered. Penn joined the project as an executive producer after a wrap -up shoot, happy to serve as a “champion” project he believed in.

“The film was shown to me and I said, ‘Anything I can do would be helpful (I will),” he explained. “It was telling great stories. I thought (it was) necessary and exciting, the idea that it exists and can be shared (like a) cautionary story.”

Penn also drew attention to Maxine Peake’s Performance as Anna with an additional tipping point for his part, as well as performance Jason IsaacsPenn believes who has deserved his flowers for some time.

“The world has known (Jason), but between White lotus And this, it’s high time for this great actor to get this kind of run, ”he shared. When he turns into watching the recent period of his Pal Longtime on the popular HBO series, Penn admitted:“ I was upset all week waiting for the next one. “

Beyond what’s on screen, the project is also about driving real conversations about the world as a whole to Penn, who is clearly interested in storytelling that echoes for much longer than after the credits roll.

“The situation we are in now, we feel that words are equipped now, very much so, and judgments and truths. I think we have lost our ability to discuss, to argue,” he explained. “You have to listen to people’s views you don’t agree with.”

But we should not retreat from those warm negotiations, Penn added. “We have to pull this out. We can’t hold the lids down, as none of us will grow and move on and learn,” he said.

Penn saw that passion in Anna’s wonderful journalism, as Peake did himself through the lens of portraying her.

“The words he put on the paper were so effective and could connect with such a great audience, and her writing was beautiful, even when he described some of the most horrific events,” Peake told us in the film’s premiere earlier this month. “It made you want to sit up and pay attention when a lot of the time, as we, can turn away from those reports. (Think), ‘I don’t want to know. There’s nothing I can do’. And journalists like Anna engage with you and make you realize that there’s all something for all of us Cana ‘ make. “

Words of War out in theaters and on digital now.