We adore Sean Penn. Not everyone does, but we have to say that, watching Milk on the big screen, never once did we think, “Oh, Sean Penn’s doing a really good job playing Harvey Milk.” Not once. The suspension of disbelief was complete in a way that is rare these days.
Which meant that Sean Penn’s performance as Harvey Milk was, in our opinion, Oscar-worthy. We wanted him to win it, even though we thought Frank Langella’s Richard Nixon was a stellar, first-rate performance too.
Then along came Mickey Rourke. Mr. Wrestler. Hmm. Playing himself, we agreed privately. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Was Mickey Rourke was going to win best actor? Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Oh, the shouts and murmurs of the chattering classes.
So imagine our absolute thrill when Sean Penn won best actor for his portrayal of Harvey Milk. We applauded, we cheered outright, we were on our feet. Commie homo lovers. That’s us!
But it got even better when Sean Penn defended gay rights as he accepted the Academy’s award, calling for “equal rights for everyone.”
If you missed his excellent speech, you can watch it here:
Sean Penn at the Oscars
Sunday, March 1st, 2009We adore Sean Penn. Not everyone does, but we have to say that, watching Milk on the big screen, never once did we think, “Oh, Sean Penn’s doing a really good job playing Harvey Milk.” Not once. The suspension of disbelief was complete in a way that is rare these days.
Which meant that Sean Penn’s performance as Harvey Milk was, in our opinion, Oscar-worthy. We wanted him to win it, even though we thought Frank Langella’s Richard Nixon was a stellar, first-rate performance too.
Then along came Mickey Rourke. Mr. Wrestler. Hmm. Playing himself, we agreed privately. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Was Mickey Rourke was going to win best actor? Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Oh, the shouts and murmurs of the chattering classes.
So imagine our absolute thrill when Sean Penn won best actor for his portrayal of Harvey Milk. We applauded, we cheered outright, we were on our feet. Commie homo lovers. That’s us!
But it got even better when Sean Penn defended gay rights as he accepted the Academy’s award, calling for “equal rights for everyone.”
If you missed his excellent speech, you can watch it here:
Courtesy of The Telegraph.co.uk.
Tags:gay marriage, Oscars 2009, Sean Penn
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