Sean Penn: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
1. Matthew Poncelet - Dead Man Walking
This is the performance that will forever define Sean Penn, the one that captured every bit of his skill as an actor and displayed the range of which he is now renowned for flexing even in his lesser roles - more on those after the jump. Cast by director Tim Robbins to star alongside Susan Sarandon in his 1996 movie debate on the death penalty, Penn plays condemned Matthew Poncelot. Poncelot is the epitome of twenty something backwater rage; tattooed up with a pompadour hairdo, he skilfully controls his conversations with Sarandon's Sister Helen Prejean by never truly admitting or taking responsibility for his crime. That is until the film's closing moments, where Penn unleashes some of the most powerful acting seen in the nineties during the now classic reconciliation scene. Penn would go on to receive various award nominations for a role that essentially put him on the map. Although he would miss out on the Oscar for playing Poncelot that went to Nicholas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas this remains a performance that cannot be defined by silverware - its simply timeless.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
