Sean Penn may have missed the 2026 Oscars, where he won Best Supporting Actor, but he still had a worthy celebration of his own.
On Sunday night, the 65-year-old One Battle After Another star became the fourth male actor to win his third Oscar. However, he was notably absent from the ceremony, instead choosing to visit the war-torn Ukraine.
Penn has been a longtime activist in the country, becoming President Volodymyr Zelensky’s closest high-profile ally during the country’s war with Russia.
In a new clip shared to X by Ukrainian Railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, he presented Penn with a custom Oscar statuette made of salvaged metal from a railcar destroyed by Russia.
“You’re missing the Oscars, and plus you gave the last one to the president,” Pertsovskyi said. During one of Penn’s early visits to Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion, he gifted Zelensky one of his Oscar trophies.
“So we made this one,” Pertsovskyi said, pulling out the handmade trophy. “This is made from the railcar that was damaged by the Russians. The metal survived, so we put some words here. It’s very special for us. It’s not golden but it’s very real and from the bottom of our hearts.”
Giving Pertsovskyi a hug, Penn thanked him, telling him: “These are all treasures.”
In the post’s caption, Pertsovskyi added: “Sean Penn opted for the trip to [Ukraine] vs. Oscar ceremony at Dolby Theater where he was awarded his 3rd [trophy]. We couldn’t leave our great friend and loyal Ukrainian Railways passenger without an award. So, I have presented Sean with our Iron Oscar on behalf of all of us!”
Penn won Best Supporting Actor at Sunday’s ceremony for his performance as narcissistic Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-winning revolutionary epic One Battle After Another. He beat his One Battle After Another co-star Benicio Del Toro, Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) and Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), who were all present at the ceremony.
Kieran Culkin, the category’s previous winner, presented the award. After revealing Penn’s victory, he said that the actor couldn’t be there to accept the award.
“Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening. Or didn’t want to,” The Succession alum quipped in his usual wry tone. “So I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”
Penn’s absence at the Academy Awards was not a complete surprise, as he had not shown up at several awards ceremonies in the run-up to the Oscars, including the Baftas, where he also won Best Supporting Actor.
