I’ve always been on the fence about Hopper Penn, the 22-year-old son of Sean Penn and Robin Wright. While I think their daughter Dylan turned out okay, Hopper often seems rather messy, and very much like his father at that age. Well, Hopper has a role in his dad’s terrible new film, The Last Face. TLF premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and the reviews were awful, across the board. But Hopper still has to promote it a little bit, which is how we got this amazing short interview in Interview Magazine. Hopper reveals that his dad wanted to name him “Steak.” Steak Penn. I thought for sure it would be Ham Penn.
Where Hopper lives: “L.A., unfortunately. I hate almost everything about it. I don’t fit well there, with the people. It’s very hard to find a genuine person in L.A. Also, I’m the big fan of rain and overcast weather. So it’s either Seattle or New York for me.”
Why he’s named Hopper: “It has to do with Dennis Hopper; my dad was friendly with him and idolized him. My dad wanted to name me Steak, the food, because he loves it so much. But my mom was never going to go for it. What they told me is that I hopped in her stomach, I didn’t kick, so they went with that.”
How he started acting: “Two and a half years ago, my dad was working on his movie called The Last Face, and I asked if I could PA for it. He said, “No, you’re going to act in it.” I said no, because I’m very shy; I didn’t know how to act. He said, “Well, you’ll get paid.” So I was like, “I’m onboard.” After the first day, I fell in love with it.
Whether he worries about measuring up to his parents: “My dad is a really good actor, and there are a lot of sh-tty actors, and I definitely think I’m one of them.”
Robin Wright should have let Sean name the baby Steak Penn. Let Sean (or Ham Senior, or perhaps Señor Ham) live with that choice and then see how quickly Sean admits he made a mistake by naming a baby Steak! And if we’re just naming babies by our favorite foods now, how many babies would be named Cupcake, Peanut Butter M&Ms, Potato Chips, Pecan Pie and Beer. Mojito Penn? Baked Potato Penn? Meatball Penn?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
Sorry Nope no Country for Hopper Penn his little N-word Rant stayed with me, stayed so much that I was wondering how that blended family was working with Charlize Black Child being in the mix
I remember that too and thought of it first thing when I saw his name. Nope.
Yep. First thing I thought of too.
“Ok, thanks for the info about the name. Can you explain how your dad raised you to be such a racist?”
“or Ham Senior, or perhaps Señor Ham”
DYING.
mine would be Mashed Potatoes Doofus.
Lol, I know. I’m imagining the Goop-esque variations like Kale, Hummus or Goji.
The kid looks disconcertingly like his dad.
The poor kid named Acai constantly telling the other kids “noooo it’s ass-i-ee”
lol Erinn and Esmom!
ha ha ha
Mine would be either Peanut Butter Cup or Beef Jerky Snazzy 🙂
ugh. more celebuspawn with zero talent riding their parents’ coattails. sean penn is grotesque looking. why is he so red?
He always looks on the verge of a heart attack.
Doesn’t he just sound so passionate about acting? INspiring…
Because his systolic blood pressure is about 200mmHg!!
Probably alcohol.
Both have serious douche face.
WHY IS HE SO RED???? That is the question.
Also, note that Hopper says his dad is a really good actor but nothing about his mother who is also an incredible actress. Interesting…
Sean’s the one looks like a Steak, not his son. I swear, I went to a steakhouse last night, and got a steak to eat that was just as pink as Penn’s face!! I sent it back cause it was undercooked.
Someone needs to tell the makeup artists to set the foundation to well done, instead of medium rare.
God, Dylan is beautiful. The spitting image of her mom at that age.
Welp, that’s one opportunity taken away from a talented up and coming actor who could have actually used the money. Keeping nepotism alive, Ham-Face, well done.
The saving grace though, is that the movie reviews are so bad it probably wouldn’t have helped them career-wise. However, it is rather saddening that some celebrity’s kid was given an unneeded paycheck that a rising and more needy actor would have truly appreciated.
If Sean Penn likes steak so much, he should change his own name to Steak Penn, rather than give his son a stupid name.
Dude, your mom is a great actress too.
You do not get to be called Steak. Your new name can be Chopped Liver Penn
Yes, that’s what rubbed me the wrong way as well – what about his mom? Just as good if not better than his Dad.
I think going along with the Ham Senior name, the boy should be named Spam, even more ignominious than chopped liver!
I’ve always thought that Robin Wright is a better actor than Penn. Don’t get me wrong, Penn is an excellent actor and he’s the one who got the Oscars but just thinking how underrated and truly talented is Wright that after a semi retirement to raise her kids, it took her just a couple of years to get back to the top of the game, that’s how talented she is. She has an amazing range as an actress and she’s truly great at subtle acting, which is the most difficult thing, as opposed as chew scenery things like “IS THAT MY DAUGHTER????????!!!!!!!!!!!”
Why is his face so red?
My children will be Guacamole, Shrimp Burrito or Goat Cheese Brushetta. Hmmmm….I love my children 😄
Ha, I should name my kids after the pregnancy cravings. Mini TwoHearts would be ‘Chicken Twisties’ and her soon to arrive baby sister would be ‘Snickers’ or ‘Cheeseburger’. Plus Steak Penn sounds suspiciously close to State Penn which would have been hilarious!
Yes, ok, I”ll say it –
Pigg Penn
If he hates LA so much, why doesn’t he move? It drives me absolutely spare when people with no family, no job, no financial constraints, and no ties to that area choose to live in a particular city and/or country and proceed to b*itch about it nonstop.
I knew a guy like this when I lived in New York-he was from Italy, here on one of those “exceptional talent” visas, ostensibly as a photographer (although the only thing I ever saw him do was sit on his rear and smoke pot-he never booked a job that I’m aware of). Not that he needed work-his family was richer than God and they were supporting him. He absolutely loathed New York. Everything about it was awful to him-the people, the food, the buildings, you name it, he literally never shut up about it. It absolutely baffled me why he would continue choosing to live there. He had no family there, no financial constraints, no work, no other ties-he briefly dated one of my friends, which is how I met him, but it was never serious and they split after a few months. Surprisingly, I actually ran into him the last time I was in New York-he has renewed his visa for another year!! And the brief conversation consisted about 90% of him b*tching about how horrible New York was! I mean, the mind is boggled!
Lord have Mercy, Hopper Penn looks like his namesake Dennis Hopper. Robin what did you do?