Which Oscar did Sean Penn give Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Which Oscar did Sean Penn give Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
Anna Kaufman, USA TODAYThu, March 12, 2026 at 3:21 PM UTC
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Years after Sean Penn gifted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy an Oscar, The Hollywood Reporter says they solved the mystery of which one it was.
Penn, 65, has two Academy Awards − one for his performance in "Milk" and another for his role in "Mystic River." This year, he’s up for a third, with a nomination for his role in "One Battle After Another." Should he nab the award, which some critics argue he will, it remains to be seen whether he’ll loan it out as he’s done in the past.
In 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine and the two countries went to war, Penn gifted Zelenskyy one of his little golden statues. Now, THR says that a new examination of photos shows the Oscar he gifted was the one won for "Mystic River," a 2003 crime drama in which Penn played ex-con Jimmy Marcum.
USA TODAY has reached out to Penn's reps for comment.
Actor and director Sean Penn attends a meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 28, 2022.
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Penn, an outspoken advocate for Ukraine, has traveled to the war-torn country several times throughout its conflict with Russia. During one such trip in 2022, Zelenskyy shared a post to Instagram revealing Penn had gifted the country one of his Oscars.
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"It's just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here then I'll feel better and strong enough for the fights," the actor told Zelenskyy. Penn also advised Ukraine's president to return the Oscar statuette to Malibu "when you win."
The actor was gifted Ukraine's Order of Merit in the third degree during his visit. "Thank you for such sincere support and significant contribution to the popularization of Ukraine in the world!" Zelenskyy wrote on Instagram.
The actor's gift came months after he told CNN's Jim Acosta that he would "smelt" a statue if the Academy didn't invite Zelenskyy to the 2022 ceremony. The Academy has a rule prohibiting winners from selling or disposing of the statuette.
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Penn has remained a steadfast ally to Ukraine, previously calling the ongoing Russian invasion "a brutal mistake of lives taken and hearts broken."
"If he doesn't relent, I believe Mr. Putin will have made a most horrible mistake for all of humankind," Penn said in a statement to USA TODAY in February 2022. President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people "have risen as historic symbols of courage and principle. Ukraine is the tip of the spear for the democratic embrace of dreams. If we allow it to fight alone, our soul as America is lost."
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Which Oscar did Sean Penn give Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy?
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