The Oscar-winning actor, who has already traveled to Ukraine twice to shoot a documentary on the Russian invasion, thought of “taking up arms”.
This is what he confided in a long interview granted to the Hollywood Authentic. Asked about the conflict in Ukraine and the possibility of returning there, the actor engaged on the spot with the CORE association, which he co-founded and which helps refugees from Poland, returned to his stay in the country.
Sean Penn, 61, traveled to Mariupol in November 2021, before returning to Ukraine last February to witness the Russian invasion in a documentary. Country he had to leave on foot at the beginning of March after the intensification of the bombardments. A conflict that he strongly denounces, to the point that he thought of fighting.
The idea of fighting always crosses his mind
“The only reason that could have made me stay longer in Ukraine the last time would have been if I was holding a gun,” he explained during this interview, before adding “probably without a bulletproof vest, because as a foreigner you would like to give this bulletproof vest to one of the civilian fighters who does not have one, or to a fighter with more skills than me, or to a younger man or woman who could fight longer.
Back in the United States, the actor remains deeply marked by this conflict and the idea of getting involved still crosses his mind. “Where I am in life I’m far from it, but if you’ve been to Ukraine the thought of fighting must cross your mind. And there, you say to yourself but what is this century? “, continues the artist before concluding “I was at the Brentwood gas station (upscale district of Los Angeles editor’s note) the other day and I am now thinking of taking arms against Russia. What is happening ?”
A return to Ukraine considered
The actor, who has also explained that he intends to return to Ukraine, wants to be as useful as possible. “I’m not sure what I can offer. I don’t spend my time texting the president or his team while they are under siege and their people are being murdered. I will probably send a message through the chief of staff,” he explained, detailing in passing the content of the message he could send. “Here’s what I’m looking to do that I think is helpful. You just have to answer me in two ways: do not come or come and do what you have planned, or come, but here is where you could be more useful”, explained the Oscar-winning actor, who from the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, has never ceased to mobilize to raise funds and call for support from the population, as much as the government of Volodymyr Zelensky.
Last February, the Ukrainian president, for his part, welcomed the arrival of the actor-director as part of his documentary. “Our country is grateful to him for such a display of courage and honesty,” Volodymyr Zelensky’s office had shared on the networks. The two men met the day before the invasion, then the day of the first Russian offensive.