(Kyiv) American actor Sean Penn, who is making a documentary on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has loaned one of his two Oscars to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, asking him to bring it back to Malibu when he wins the war.
Posted at 9:57 a.m.
Updated at 10:02 a.m.
Mr. Zelensky’s office on Wednesday released video of the encounter during Penn’s latest visit to Ukraine, his third since the war began on Feb. 24.
The president wrote on Twitter that the Oscar was “a symbol of faith in our country’s victory.”
Sean Penn, who has been involved in numerous international, humanitarian and anti-war causes over the years, told President Zelensky that every time he left Ukraine he felt like a “traitor”.
He then pulled out his Oscar, saying he would feel better if he stayed with the president.
“When you win, bring it back to me in Malibu. Because I really feel better that there is a part of me here,” he added.
Zelensky was initially hesitant to accept the statue, then joked, “We have to win, fast. »
It’s unclear when the encounter took place or which Oscar winner Sean Penn left behind. The actor won two Academy Awards for Best Actor, in 2003 for Mystic River and in 2008 for Milk.