2. Sean Penn Rescues 40 People During Hurricane Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in September 2005 it was the worst natural disaster in American history. At least 2000 people were killed, hundreds of thousands became evacuees and the damage was estimated at $1billion. As anger at the government's slow response grew, Sean Penn arrived in New Orleans and drove a motorboat through the flooded streets to pick-up stranded residents. The Oscar winning activist rescued some 40 people before taking them to medical centres, he also handed out some much needed cash. Penn told journalists he was just one of the many people who wanted to help, but his fame made the mission possible, "I could afford to get on an airplane and get down there. It became easy to get out, for me to get a boat and get out on the water with some other people." Some quarters claimed it was an exercise in self-publicity and although Penn is far from naive about the media he seemed to be trying to highlight the government's failures rather than gain praise for himself. He explained: "We got a lot of people out of the water. The rest is for people to talk about." Presidential historian and author Douglas Brinkley described the actor and director as an 'American hero', telling the press that he frequently witnessed Penn waist deep in toxic waste as he tried to get people to safety.