Sean Penn Wins Best Actor

Sean Penn won the Oscar for best actor on Sunday for the drama "Mystic River" and a standing ovation from his Hollywood peers for his role as the tormented father of a murdered girl.

Penn, nominated in the past for "Dead Man Walking," "I Am Sam" and "Sweet and Lowdown," took the top acting honor for one of his trademark roles, the anguished, shattered father torn apart by the murder of his daughter and his friend's possible involvement in blue collar Boston.

He was considered a frontrunner for the Oscar but some said the volatile, brooding actor might be overlooked because of his outspoken political views -- particularly against the Iraq war -- and his failure to attend the Golden Globe awards in January.

But Penn's affecting performance in "Mystic River," coupled with another bravura turn this year in "21 Grams," was too good for voters to ignore.

Hollywood's finest rose to their feet as an uncharacteristically smiling and shy Penn went to the stage to collect his award.

But Penn, who said he had not prepared a speech on the grounds that this was "presumptuous and embarrassing," did not leave his politics far behind.

"If there's one thing that actors know, other than that there weren't any WMDs (weapons of mass destruction)," he said, to cheers and scattered applause, "it's that there is no such thing as best in acting and that's proven by these great actors I was nominated with."

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Posted by Ron at March 1, 2004 06:47 AM