Editing Sean Penn (section)

===1974–1989: Early work and breakthrough===
[[File:Sean Penn Cannes.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Penn at the [[1997 Cannes Film Festival]]]]
Penn appeared in a 1974 episode of the ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'' television series as an extra when his father, Leo, directed some of the episodes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Reier |first=Evan |date=February 20, 2021 |title='Little House on the Prairie': The Uncredited Role Sean Penn Played in the Series |url=https://outsider.com/news/entertainment/little-house-on-the-prairie-uncredited-role-sean-penn-played-series/ |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=Outsider}}</ref> Penn launched his film career with the action-drama ''[[Taps (film)|Taps]]'' (1981), where he played a military high school cadet.<ref name=tca/> That same year he made his [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] debut in the Kevin Heelan play ''Heartland'' at the [[Century Theatre (Central Park West)|Century Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/heartland-century-theatre-vault-0000013395|title= Heartland (Broadway, 1981)|website= Playbill|access-date= June 12, 2024}}</ref> A year later, he appeared in the hit comedy ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]'' (1982), in the role of surfer-stoner Jeff Spicoli; his character helped popularize the word "dude" in popular culture.<ref name=tca/> Next, Penn appeared as Mick O'Brien, a troubled youth, in the drama ''[[Bad Boys (1983 film)|Bad Boys]]'' (1983).<ref name=tca/> The role earned Penn favorable reviews and jump-started his career as a serious actor. He returned to Broadway that same year acting in the [[John Byrne (playwright)|John Byrne]] play ''[[Slab Boys]]'' acting alongside [[Kevin Bacon]], [[Val Kilmer]], [[Jackie Earl Haley]], and [[Madeleine Potter]] at the [[Playhouse Theatre (New York City)|Playhouse Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/slab-boys-playhouse-theatre-vault-0000013344|title= Slab Boys (Broadway, 1983)|website= Playbill|access-date= June 12, 2024}}</ref>

Penn played [[Andrew Daulton Lee]] in the film ''[[The Falcon and the Snowman]]'' (1985), which closely followed an actual criminal case.<ref name=tca/> Lee was a former drug dealer, convicted of espionage for the [[Soviet Union]] and originally sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled in 1998. Penn later hired Lee as his personal assistant, partly because he wanted to reward Lee for allowing him to play Lee in the film; Penn was also a firm believer in rehabilitation and thought Lee should be successfully reintegrated into society, since he was a free man again.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/apr/08/seanpenn|title='When Sean's having fun, it's hard to imagine having more fun'|work=[[The Guardian]]|first=Richard T.|last=Kelly|date=April 8, 2005|access-date=March 3, 2021}}</ref> Penn starred in the drama ''[[At Close Range]]'' (1986) which received critical acclaim.<ref name=tca/> He stopped acting for a few years in the early 1990s, having been dissatisfied with the industry, and focused on making his directing debut.<ref name=tca/>