The actor won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in “One Battle After Another,” earning a third Oscar. According to Variety, Penn addressed his absence during a conversation with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins at the Tribeca Festival in New York.
Sean Penn says skipping the Oscars was “better for my mental health”
During the conversation, Penn stressed that his absence from the Academy Awards was not about the ceremony itself. “It’s not just [that it’s] an awards show,” he said. “It would be the same if this group was going to an afterparty and one stepped into that.” He added that large gatherings have long been difficult for him, describing them as “social discomfort” because there are simply “too many people.”
Penn went on to reveal that he has drawn a firm personal boundary when it comes to crowded events. “I’m now down, committed for life, that I won’t go anywhere to be in a designated group beyond eight people,” he said. According to the actor, those settings trigger his “anxiety” and are “dread-provoking.”
Ahead of the Oscars, Penn discussed the situation with his “One Battle After Another” collaborators and ultimately decided not to attend. The group agreed it was “better for my mental health” if he skipped the ceremony. Instead, he traveled to Ukraine for activist work, where he watched the broadcast despite the time difference.
Watching from abroad gave him a different experience than the one he had known as a nominee and winner. “I really got to enjoy the Academy Awards for the first time,” Penn said. “It was great.”
The actor also revealed that his decision was shaped by an earlier awards-season appearance. Reflecting on a visit to the Golden Globes, he said, “The best that I could ever muster was relief.” That event ultimately convinced him that awards shows were no longer for him. “I went to the Golden Globes; I’d never been to that before. And that’s where I decided, ‘I can’t do this.’” As for what makes those gatherings difficult, Penn offered a simple explanation: “It’s the ninth person.”