Sean Penn was given an honorary Academy Award after skipping out on the 2026 Oscars.
“Sean Penn opted for the trip to 🇺🇦 vs. Oscar ceremony at Dolby Theater where he was awarded his 3rd 🏆,” Ukrainian Railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi wrote via X on Tuesday, March 17. “We couldn’t leave our great friend and loyal Ukrainian Raiwlays [sic] passenger without an award. So, I have presented Sean with our IronOscar on behalf of all of us!”
The award given to Penn, 65, was forged from metal taken from a destroyed railcar.
“You’re missing the Oscars. Plus, you gave the last one to the president. So we made this one,” Pertsovskyi said in a video shared via X. (In November 2022, Penn gave one of his Oscars to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.)
“You said the metals survived, so we put some words here that are very special to us,” Pertsovskyi continued while presenting Penn with the gift. “It’s not golden, but it’s very real, and it’s from the bottom of our hearts. It’s important to us.”
Sean Penn opted for the trip to 🇺🇦 vs. Oscar ceremony at Dolby Theater where he was awarded his 3rd 🏆. We couldn’t leave our great friend and loyal Ukrainian Raiwlays passenger without an award. So, I have presented Sean with our IronOscar on behalf of all of us! pic.twitter.com/OLyzOY4h7L
— Oleksandr Pertsovskyi (@Pertsovskyi_O) March 17, 2026
Penn offered his gratitude, giving Pertsovskyi a hug.
The actor won his third Academy Award on Sunday, March 15, for his role as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another. Kieran Culkin presented the best supporting actor category before accepting the award on Penn’s behalf.
“Sean couldn’t be here this evening — or didn’t want to be — so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf,” Culkin said before walking on stage.
A report published by The New York Times on Sunday explained Penn’s absence was because of his trip to Ukraine.
“His plan as of late last week was to visit Ukraine, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter,” the report stated. “The people did not specify what he would be doing there or where precisely within the country he would be going.”
There was speculation beforehand that Penn’s “itinerary might have changed,” but he ultimately missed out on the ceremony.
Sunday marked Penn’s third Oscars win. He previously took home two best actor wins for his 2003 role in Mystic River and 2008 role in Milk. He is one of four male actors who have taken home three Oscars throughout their careers, joining the ranks of Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis and Walter Brennan.
