For this awards season, Sean Penn has been rather subdued. Perhaps he really wants a second Oscar, perhaps he’s mellowed with age, perhaps his on-again relationship with wife Robin Wright-Penn has taken up most of his time. But Sean Penn is not above some old-school complaining about his fellow actors. Specifically, actors with modeling contracts.
Sean Penn calls out one actress/model by her endorsement deal. He said, to Rolling Stone magazine, “People are spending too much time modeling for some f–king clothing company instead of acting, and I resent it. It’s like, ‘Are you going to do the Chanel ad today? I thought you were in the middle of shooting a f–king movie.” Gee, who has Sean worked with that had a contract with Chanel? Let me rack my brain…
Sean Penn is sickened by his movie star peers who sign up to model for clothing companies and designers – because he thinks they should concentrate on acting.
The Oscar nominee has no time for stars who aren’t committed to acting 100 per cent, and he’s calling on those who want to be taken seriously to ditch their sideline jobs.
Penn tells the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine, “People are spending too much time modelling for some f**king clothing company instead of acting, and I resent it. It’s like, ‘Are you going to do the Chanel ad today? I thought you were in the middle of shooting a f**king movie.’
“Just let me know if you mean it. I want to know you’re trying to write the great American novel every time. Fail all you want, but f**king try.”
From contactmusic.com
I can see how it would bother any actor is their co-star (cough, cough Nicole Kidman in The Interpreter) drops a day of filming to shoot an ad campaign. But I disagree with Penn that ad campaigns are a bad thing – I genuinely enjoy seeing most actors and actresses in ad campaigns, in fact, I prefer them to the sickly-thin models. Some actor-endorsements are better than others – Nicole Kidman’s for Chanel were really boring, in my opinion. But I enjoy Clive Owen for Lancome Homme.
Photos are stills from the 2005 film The Interpreter, thanks to Allmoviephoto.
It must be exhausting to be perfect.
Get over yourself Sean.
I resent that Sean Penn cheats on his wife with any young thing that he can find. hmmmm which is worse?
Yeah, he could possibly mind his own business, and also suckit.
Don’t know Mr. Penn and his personal life/ gossip, but I don’t enjoy celebrity endorsements. We won’t vote who they tell us to, so why would I buy anything they say is great? Judging from Kidman’s string of flops, she may want to just model, and not try to act.
I can appreciate how he would like to see actors with some actual acting ability onscreen, so would I. I believe that actors are chosen for their looks over talent far too much.
I am tired of seeing gritty stories portrayed onscreen by actors who always have perfect hair and makeup….Seriously? You wake up looking like that when your house is on fire? Give me a freakin’ break!
However…in the case of female actors, especially ones of a certain age… You have to take care of number one, baby. Sean Penn, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood…they will all be acting for as long as they like…. Women, on the other hand, are hired almost exclusively on looks, and have to do what they can with what they have, while they have it.
It sucks, but we make it that way.
Yeah, well, being a puffy drunk is fairly unprofessional too.
Say what? Actresses serve as unpaid models all the time! Every time they go on the red carpet, the first question is “Who are you wearing?”
Celebs are deluged with free designer clothes, in hopes the celeb will be photographed wearing their creations.
So why does Sean Penn have a problem with an actress being paid for an ad campaign? It’s a lot of money and not a lot of work.
@Jessie – excellent point about the limited long-term options women in the industry have. A lucrative endorsement opportunity comes along, why shouldn’t they take it? When it comes to endorsements, I only have a problem when it’s with a dodgy company or the branding is contradictory for the public figure concerned – like Clooney and Nestle, or Paltrow and Tods.
I like Sean Penn as an actor but he comes across as a pissy, joyless human being. Maybe he’s angry cos no one wants him to endorse anything?
Maybe Sean is just bitter that he’s never been approached to endorse anything? I don’t know, just sayin’.
Acting/modeling is just business, but here’s some of advice of much importance, Sean…you are married, so you should focus 100% on your marriage and not get sidetracked by every young thing that you want to sit on your lap. There!
Oh, go and tie someone to a chair….miserable old git
Double standard here? Shouldn’t he be all over Alec Baldwin who has turned into William Shatner2?! (not a compliment). Or are just signaling out just certain individuals. Heck if some of these people didn’t do ads they wouldn’t have a career or a career to revive.
Oh, and what about Angelina Jolie, he’s hitting her as well.
Pitiful!
Nicole is a statuesque woman with unique features, so her modeling for Chanel hardly seems inappropriate or gratuitous even in context to her acting career.
Nicole to Sean: “You ain’t payin’ my bills or feedin’ my baby, so STFU!”
There are lots of actors who do this because its GREAT money for a few days work and let’s face it, the shelf life of many actors is not what it used to be. Make it while you can. And if we are going to go down the road of things that make people disgusted and resentful let’s talk about actor’s who treat people on the set like shit Sean.
Cough: everyone. a ton of actors and actresses do endoresements all over the world.
perhaps sean ought to stop going to visit Chavez and all the rest of political extracurricular engagements that take his time away from acting. pompous.
Sean Penn is a really, really good actor… he’s played a likeable guy a number of times and judging from what I’ve seen of him as himself, that’s quite a stretch.
Every time I hear an interview with Sean Penn or read his quotes in print, I am struck by the fact that HE IS SO FULL OF HIMSELF. It doesn’t surprise me at all that this egotistical, arrogant, self-important jerk was once married to Madonna! As for Robin Wright Penn (who will always be the “Princess Bride” to me), she must really love him to put up with his public humiliations and infidelity! As we used to say in Junior High, this guy really thinks he’s “IT”…but he’s not!
Good point Diva, I liked him in Fast Times…..
shut up, sean.
What a pompous, self righteous shit.
He also worked with Brad Pitt who models clothing and other ish for japan. I bet he was talking about him…
It’s becoming very common for many top rated stars to get paid many thousands (depending on their “star status”) to wear a designer’s clothes and/or jewelery and/or shoes at high profile events. Nothing is free in this world. Some Angelina made a deal with St. John’s at one point that she would get paid via a charitable fund set up – so she did paid but the money went to directly charity. Im not judging but dont be fooled – many stars also get appearance fees and from what Ive heard can even buy their own star on the walk of fame.
Penn is an exceptional actor and his points are valid – but agree with Jesse regarding the viability of roles for “aging” actresses. It’s a total double standard.
I agree with Jessie, too. Sean is amazing in Milk and a lot of other roles he has portrayed, but the actress game is different than the actor game, and women have to strategize accordingly. It’s really tough, because there are a fair number of celebrities who can’t act, and trade on their looks alone(Scar Jo is a classic example. What is she but walking t*ts and a blank expression?, but yet again, there is enormous pressure to look young and pretty. That’s where Sean would be justified in calling Nicole out–her botoxorexia is out of control!
Sorry for the typos. I really need an edit feature sometimes!
All the A,B,C,D-lister get paid very well but… Men on the A-list get 20 to 30 million a film. Women on the A-list get maybe 10million a film. There hasn’t been more than 2 women at a time making 14million a film in a year. But most the males don’t make under 20million. And they make that high sum for years. Women get a year or two making the big bucks (for women its 14mil) then their rates start to go down. The women have to become models to catch up with the male actors in money. Most of them were models before they became actresses any way. So they are just doing what they’ve always done.
who cares? what a jerk.
He never fails to make himself look like a bigger ass in each appearance or interview.
That Nicole Kidman campaign for Chanel was so pretentious. I hate her for that too and I didn’t have to work with her or her wigs.
actors are people, they need a retirement plan too!
Interesting, he owns a restaurant in Paris with Johnny Depp. Both great actors, one just absolutely beautiful and seemingly humble, the other perhaps well-intentioned but overly certain of his opinion.
Anyway, Depp has done massive ad campaigns for H+M as well as a watch company which affiliates itself with a children’s charity.
Seems like there may be a conflict in how Mr. Penn understands these issues. It seems to give creedance to what many of you have already written re. the gender issues at play for actors.
Sean Peen is such a jerk! He can’t even pay people to see his movie so maybe he should try it before knocking it down. The Peen hasn’t had a hit movie in his entire career. The answer is because no one wants to see him or hear him.
Okay, I’m pushing it I know, but you enjoy Kidman over some sickly-skinny models??? Ehem… let me rethink this thought… Exactly when has been Kidman growing into normal-sized in your world?
As usual Sean Penn needs to shut his big hairy pie hole.
He thinks he is the best, but unfortunately for him he is not.He will never compete with actors like johnny depp,harvey keitel,robert duvall,morgan freeman,gene hackman,anthony hopkins,liam neeson…etc
He should thank god everyday to have robin wright as his wife…
I really can’t see how is it any of his business if an actor has another gig.
Most of them have these modeling deals, and this is none of his business.
I find his personality really disturbing.
This is one thing to lend your star power to opressive dictators, cheating on your adorable wife and being an A- hole to the people who work with you.
But how dare a guy who beats up women talk about other people’s business?
I am sorry, but he is so inlove with himself and thinks so highly of himself.
The truth is, is not that good of an actor.
So much sense, now.
if he’s against it, he doesn’t have to do it. why disrespect other people? this guy has no class, but that goes without saying….
Sean Penn dares to be disgusted by anyone?!
Did he ever look in the mirror?
Did he ever listen to himself?
Is there anyone more disgusting than Sean Penn?
This guy scares audiences away, even when he is given great (and important) roles.
Just when you think everybody think he is as unbearable as they come, he says something new.
This from an actor whose best performance to date was in ‘Fast times at Ridgemont High’.
Really?! Get off your high horse Sean. This guy makes me sick! If you are so into acting and the creative process get out of Hollywood, give up your fat pa check and “channel” your art for free doing community theatre.
Hollywood is a business dude….
Robin Wright, leave the asshole now. He’s abusive.
You don’t have to stick up to him for the sake of the kids. They’ll be better off seeing that their mother is no longer disrespected by their father.
Did he promise to change ? Come on… Leave the jerk.
I don’t like when celebs endorse food, diet programs, or diet supplements. I just think it’s kind of…squicky.
Clothes, shoes, cars, and perfume…doesn’t bother me as much.
But I guess it would be pretty annoying if your coworker took off in the middle of the day or showed up late because they were busy with a part-time job.
On the other hand, the points about actresses having a shorter “shelf life” than actors makes sense, as well.
(And man, Celebitchy commenters hate Sean Penn!)
“People are spending too much time modeling for some f–king clothing company instead of acting, and I resent it”
In that case, I hope more actress do it…anything to annoy this pompous, self-important walking and (unfortunately talking) ego.
Celebrities have been doing it for decades. If he doesn’t do it, that’s his choice but he’s a fool if he thinks it’s something new.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Penn’s work as a journalist, whether traveling to Iraq for the SF Chronicle or 10-hour interviews with Raul Castro. So apparently it’s not the outside work, but the *type* of outside work. Right…
James Franco, the main co-star of Penn’s possibly award winning movie models for Gucci. I understand why he would be annoyed but what he said is like telling a mother she can’t have a career. A mother is obviously solely dedicated to her child but maybe she likes to do her career on the side because she has to pay the bills or wants to have new experiences. It was the kind of comment that could’ve been approached much more gracefully and Penn just comes across as an asshole.
I just looked up in the Webster dictionary for the definition of ASSHOLE. Asshole; see Sean Penn.
Sean Penn: You are a total horses ass, hollywood thinks you are their bad ass, but you are just dead ass walking.
I’m the greatest actor of my generation!
Translation: I am a douchebag!