Sean Penn Gets into Rescue Act

BY NICOLE BODE
NY DAILY NEWS, Sep 5, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - Sean Penn took matters into his own hands yesterday, launching a boat in a personal effort to rescue New Orleans families stranded by Hurricane Katrina.

The Oscar-winning actor and political activist managed to reach several people who had been trapped in their homes since the hurricane hit Monday.

Penn, who was accompanied by his personal photographer and a crew of helpers, brought the victims to dry land - and gave them cash as well.

Johnnie Brown, 73, a retired custodian, called his sister on a cell phone after being plucked from his flooded house. "Guess who come and got me out of the house? Sean Penn the actor. Them boys were really nice," he said.

Penn later accompanied a few of them to a hospital.

Asked what he was doing in the disaster zone, Penn said, "Whatever I can do to help."

"There's a lot of people out there," Penn said. "There's bodies everywhere. We could only do so many houses."

The outspoken Penn has made several forays into political activism. He visited Iraq in the weeks before the U.S. launched the war to topple Saddam Hussein and recently journeyed to Iran and wrote a series of stories about life in the Islamic republic.

Originally published on September 5, 2005

From Middle East Online

Sean Penn turns journalist for Iran vote

Hollywood star is in the Islamic republic to cover presidential elections for San Francisco Chronicle.

TEHRAN - Hollywood actor Sean Penn has swapped greasepaint for notebook as he visits Iran to cover the presidential elections next week for a California newspaper.

Penn, star of rugged hits like "Mystic River" and "29 Grams", was an unexpected visitor at Tehran's Friday prayers where he was seen clutching a reporters' notebook as he surveyed the proceedings.

He refused to make any comments to his fellow members of the press, restricting himself to confirming that he was in the Islamic republic to cover the elections for the San Francisco Chronicle.

At his hotel he has been registered as "Sean Justin Penn", journalist, according to an employee.

Penn is already known for his high-profile activities as an opponent of President George W. Bush.

He caused outrage in Washington by visiting Baghdad in December 2002, just before the US-led invasion of Iraq. He then took out a full page advertisement in the New York Times to explain his stance.