Sean Penn names the directors who inspired his career as a filmmaker
Not every great actor makes it in the world of directing. Marlon Brando’s sole effort behind the camera, One-Eyed Jacks, was a complete disaster both critically and commercially. It did give a name to the brothel in Twin Peaks, which is something at least. However, one man who has excelled in both these areas of movie-making is Sean Penn.
As an actor, Penn is untouchable. He’s been nominated for an Oscar five times, winning twice, and has appeared in other movies big and small, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High to 21 Grams, Licorice Pizza to Tropic Thunder. As a director, he’s made The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard, and Into the Wild, among others. Penn has also been in command of music videos for the likes of Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, and Shania Twain.
Every director has their heroes and Penn is no exception. When speaking with The Hollywood Interview in 2001, the Milk actor was asked who his influences were and he replied with an impressive list: “Terry Malick, Hal Ashby, John Cassavetes, Francis Coppola, Jerry Schatzberg.” However, one name in particular came in for some special praise.
“William Friedkin is a very visceral filmmaker,” said Penn of the man behind The Exorcist and The French Connection. The interviewer agreed, citing Friedkin’s movie Sorcerer as one of his favourites, which Penn very much enjoyed. “Great movie!” he exclaimed. “In fact, Sorcerer established, I think, a visual sense that has been co-opted by advertising and every other form of media. It was just so dynamic, and one of the very, very influential movies of the ’70s, and still is today.”
Sorcerer, Friedkin’s film made directly after The Exorcist, turned the world upside down. It stars Roy Scheider and Bruno Cremer as a group of men tasked with transporting highly unstable dynamite through the jungles of South America. The film was a flop at the time, something Friedkin blamed on its release coinciding with that of Star Wars, but it has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years. The score from the German electronic band Tangerine Dream remains a highlight.
Elsewhere, Penn addressed a comment that his directing style was more “European” than “American”. He claimed that he wasn’t attempting to emulate some of the greats of European cinema, but rather the films he watched when he was younger: “My primary influence would be that decade when I was between 10 and 20 years old,” he said. “Every weekend I went to the movies, it was an event. An event that’s still remembered today.”
In terms of narrative movies, Penn’s most recent effort was 2021’s Flag Day, inspired by the real-life story of the daughter of a notorious conman. As for his overall output, his last film was called Superpower, and was co-directed with Robert Rodriguez’s former producer Aaron Kaufman. It charts the rise to power of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking his journey from popular TV star to the country’s symbol of hope during wartime.
