Sean Penn reveals why skipping 2026 Oscars was the 'best' decision he made

Sean Penn admitted watching 2026 Oscars from home this year was one of his best experiences of any award show he ever attended.

​The One Battle After Another, who, despite being nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award in the film, chose to skip the award show and continue his humanitarian work in Ukraine, as well as met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

​The 65-year-old actor shared at a Storytellers event during the Tribeca Film Festival in New York that he and his co-stars agreed to not attend the ceremony in March for their "better mental health."

​“I really got to enjoy the Academy Awards for the first time. It was great,” he said.

​“The best that I could ever muster was relief."

​He also won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in One Battle After Another.

​Penn also spoke about his struggles with large crowds for him which he realized after attending the 2026 Golden Globes.

​“Knowing that I wasn’t going to do that anymore, I did one before that this year. I went to the Golden Globes; I’d never been to that before. And that’s where I decided, ‘I can’t do this.’”

​He explained. “It’s not just [that it’s] an awards show. That always represented social discomfort for me; too many people. I’m now down, committed for life, that I won’t go anywhere to be in a designated group beyond eight people.”​