Sean Penn has confessed that he spent 15 years feeling miserable on film sets before finding a new purpose in his acting career with the movie Daddio, released in 2024. The actor, who has won three Oscar awards, noted that he did not enjoy making movies since starring in Milk in 2008, a biopic that earned him his second Oscar and where he felt a true connection with the project.
A movie that restored hope
Daddio, directed by Christy Hall, marks a significant change in Penn’s trajectory, who shares credits with Dakota Johnson, who took on the role of Girlie after it was originally offered to Daisy Ridley. The film, which has a budget of 10 million dollars, narrates the conversation between Girlie and the taxi driver Clark, played by Penn, as they traverse the streets of New York. Despite its simple premise, the film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2023 and had a limited release in theaters in the United States and Canada, grossing only 1.8 million dollars.
In an interview with The New York Times, Penn reflected on his career, mentioning that he had been “pretending” on set and that the experience had become exhausting. “What I thought the most was: What time is it? When are we going to finish?” he commented, adding that the arrival of the script for Daddio marked a rebirth in his acting motivation. “I felt that this could be a pleasant experience and that matters to me now, maybe more than in the past,” he stated, highlighting his desire to focus on projects that bring him personal satisfaction.
