Sean Penn, who won the 2026 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another, received a separate Oscar-shaped statuette in Ukraine days after missing the ceremony in Los Angeles. Reports said Penn was absent from the Oscars when his name was announced and that Kieran Culkin accepted the award on his behalf during the broadcast.
Made from war-damaged railway metal
The symbolic statuette presented to Penn was not a ceremonial replica in the usual sense, but a metal figure made from material taken from a Ukrainian train damaged during Russia’s war against Ukraine. The gift was presented by Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chief executive of Ukrainian Railways, and was framed in the reports as a gesture recognizing Penn’s public support for Ukraine.
One report summarized the meaning of the gesture with the line that the statuette was “not golden but very real,” underlining the contrast between the polished Hollywood trophy and an object made from the physical remnants of war.
Linked to Penn’s absence from the Oscars
The reports directly connected the gift to Penn’s decision to skip the Academy Awards. Coverage said he missed the Oscars even though he won, and that he was later seen in Kyiv, where he received the symbolic award. Another report stated that Penn had skipped the ceremony in order to visit war-affected Ukraine, presenting the trip as a show of solidarity.
Part of a longer relationship with Ukraine
The reporting also placed the gesture in the context of Penn’s earlier actions involving Ukraine. One article noted that in 2022, he gave one of his own Oscar statuettes to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while the new presentation in 2026 reversed that symbolism, with Ukraine now giving Penn an Oscar-shaped figure in return.
Symbolism beyond film
Taken together, the reports presented the gift not as an entertainment novelty, but as a politically and emotionally charged symbol. Penn’s original Oscar recognized his performance in One Battle After Another, while the Ukrainian statuette was portrayed as recognition of his support for the country during wartime. The use of metal from a damaged train gave the object an added layer of meaning, linking it directly to the destruction caused by the war and turning the tribute into a visible fusion of cinema, politics and solidarity.
