Which Oscar Did Sean Penn Give to Zelensky?

Remember that Oscar that Sean Penn pulled out of a duffel bag and gave to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in 2022 — the one Zelensky said he couldn’t accept and then Penn insisted was a loan rather than a gift (“When you win, bring it back to Malibu”)? Photos of the gifting were never clear enough to determine which of Penn’s two best actor statuettes — the one for Mystic River or the one for Milk — had been handed over, and when THR asked Penn directly in 2024, he wouldn’t say. But now, two years later, Rambling has solved the mystery.

Following a forensic examination worthy of a CSI episode all its own (actually, we just dug up some photos nobody else had bothered to look at and blew them up), it can now be confirmed: It was the Mystic River one.

Penn, a best supporting actor nominee this year for One Battle After Another, has a complicated relationship with his Oscars. Several months before lending Zelensky his trophy, he threatened to melt both of his statuettes if the Academy didn’t allow Zelensky — who had expressed interest in addressing the ceremony — to speak. The Academy declined. Penn never got around to melting them.

Does the choice of Mystic River over Milk signify anything? That’s a mystery for another day.

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Also in Rambling Reporter:

How Titanique producers broke all sorts of rules by turning to social media to finance the cult musical’s would-be Broadway run.

Laurel Canyon’s storied Country Store has been sold. But what its new owners plan to do with it remains unclear.

Inside Vanity Fair’s new Oscars party and why you’re not invited.

This story appeared in the March 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.