American actor Sean Penn visited Ukraine as the country is currently under attack from its neighbor Russia. Very politically engaged, the latter attended a press conference in Kiev, where leaders of the country were discussing the invasion by Russia of Vladimir Putin. The actor and director is reportedly preparing a documentary about escalating tensions in Eastern Europe for next year.
The comedian then met the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, to chat. The two men were shown together on a story President’s Instagram (see slideshow). The conversation, however, was not disclosed. The Ukrainian embassy congratulated the actor for his commitment, he who has an exceptional visibility beneficial to Ukraine in this war against Russia: “Sean Penn shows a courage that many others, especially Western politicians, lack. The more such people there are in our country, true friends of Ukraine, who support the struggle for freedom, the sooner it will be possible to stop Russia’s treacherous attack.“
The actor of Mystic River is used to conflict zones. Indeed, he had traveled to Iraq in the early 2000s to denounce the military intervention of his country decided by the President George W Bush. In 2004, he had written articles from Tehran in Iran to further condemn American policy. He had also traveled to the natural disaster areas of Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake to support refugees.
Despite the influence of his ex-wife Robin Wright, who had known how to channel the actor’s protest energy, frenetic political commitment has been a characteristic of the latter since the beginning of his career, he who distinguished himself in marginalized roles (Into the wild) or reforming politician (Harvey Milk).