Sean Penn, actor and director
He stars in ‘Flag Day’, which opens today, in which he directs Dylan Penn, “something extraordinary but also uncomfortable”
In the first film he directs and interprets, Sean Penn (Santa Monica, California, 61 years old) has chosen to work alongside his daughter Dylan (30) and his son Hopper (28), both the fruit of his marriage to actress Robin Wright. In ‘Flag Day,’ a family drama adapting the memoirs of journalist Jennifer Vogel, Penn returns behind the scenes as a father who lives a double life as a counterfeiter, bank robber and con man to support himself. his daughter. The story, like the script, focuses on the gaze of her, the daughter, revealing that fiction may have its roots in reality.
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Is your love for your daughter reflected on the screen?
– A privilege of working in the cinema is that, although there are periods of time when one is away from home, once you have finished your work, you can accompany your children as a parent seven days a week … and that sometimes pisses children off. From the first time I read the book, I wanted to work with my daughter because I sensed her talent. Certain images come to you when you read something, and in this case, the first thing I saw when reading the book was Dylan’s face.
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This is the first time he has chosen to direct and act in the same film at the same time.
– Yes, and I don’t think I will do it again. I have relished the extraordinary opportunity to act out scenes with Dylan, a young woman I have watched grow up, whose face to me was imprinted on the pages of the script. I reached an agreement with my daughter to distance ourselves from reality and understand that on the set we were a director and an actress.
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Is it true that you gave the book to Dylan when he was 15 years old?
– I was sent the script for the first time before reading the beautiful memoirs of Jennifer Vogel. On page thirty I was already imagining Dylan in character and I saw that there was no going back. Either he did it with her or he didn’t. This was long before she was considering being an actress, and I was directing and acting in the same movie.
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Did you think about just directing? What prompted you to act?
– This movie has had its own journey, and there were times when I was just going to direct it, and other times when we were just going to act together. But what we always knew was that she was going to star in the film.
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When did you realize that your daughter had the capacity to face the character?
– It was one day in the kitchen of my house, talking to her. Dylan had just come home from school and was telling stories about his classmates to his mother and me. A kind of imitation. And it was wonderful to discover his talent. In fact, Robin and I looked at each other excitedly. I always knew that I could be a great actress, it was only a matter of time before she wanted to play. With that thought, I put off the project until Dylan was ready, convinced it would be wonderful for the character. When filming ended, I was relieved that I was not wrong.
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Dylan was reluctant to work with you for a long time …
– She didn’t feel ready and I understand that. She thought acting was a disguise for her own reality, however I explained what acting really means. Little by little, she found the necessary respect for the profession and has won applause because she is wonderful on screen.
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Was it difficult for you to see her go into emotionally difficult places?
– It cost me, of course. There were times when I felt like I should call child protective services myself. I didn’t get to feel relaxed seeing her vulnerability because she wanted to explore as much as any other actor. Witnessing that bravery was very uncomfortable. There was a key moment in the narrative that came out of an interview with Jennifer and it touched me. They both helped each other to strengthen the role and they did it without fear.
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Did you get angry with your daughter at some point during the shoot?
– I’m going to say yes, because I know that if I don’t, she will. It was nothing serious.
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What did you learn from each other on this shoot?
– Dylan and I have a lot in common. We are both driven by enormous willpower. This shoot has been a dream on the edge of the precipice, a dream that we have both survived and that we will always remember. Creatively it has allowed us to grow, but also, as a family we have become very close because we know each other better. I fell in love with her a long, long time ago, thirty years now, when she was born, and that love flows and increases every day.
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Is there an audience that does not accept the narration you propose in ‘The day of the flag’?
– What I regret is that the public is increasingly conditioned by the fashions of society. We live within a collective victimhood. I feel very fortunate to grow up in the United States, but much of what was promised about what patriotism is, what our country stands for, has failed.
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