Sean Penn Absent as He Secures Oscar Victory at 2026 Awards

Sean Penn was notably absent when he clinched his third Oscar.

The 65-year-old Hollywood icon was announced by Kieran Culkin as the winner of the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in “One Battle After Another,” but he was not present to receive the honor.

Culkin humorously remarked, “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening or perhaps chose not to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf.”

In the film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Penn takes on the role of Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, a corrupt military officer who targets the revolutionary group known as the French 75.

The first accolade of the Oscars 2026 was awarded to Amy Madigan on Sunday night.

The 75-year-old veteran actress earned Best Supporting Actress for her work in Zach Creggar supernatural mystery horror film Weapons.

Sean Penn was not in attendance as he earned his third Oscar

The 65-year-old A-lister’s name was announced by Kieran Culkin for the Best Supporting Actor Award for his work in One Battle After Another but he was not in the building (Penn is pictured with co-star and fellow nominee Benicio del Toro in Santa Barbara last month) 

It was one of the most contentious categories of the night as she was up against Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value, Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners, and Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another.

During the speech, Madigan was visibly nervous as she ended it by thanking her husband of over four decades, fellow actor Ed Harris.

She said: ‘The most important is my beloved Ed. Who’s been with me forever, and that’s a long time and none of this would mean anything if he wasn’t by my side. So thank you very much. I’m very overwhelmed.’

Madigan has been married to Harris, 75, since 1983 as they have one child together – 32-year-old daughter Lily Dolores Harris – whom they welcomed a decade later in 1993.

The sharp-tongued Culkin joked: ‘Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf’

In the Paul Thomas Anderson directed film, Penn portrays Col. Steven J. Lockjaw who is a corrupt military officer who pursues revolutionary group the French 75

The synopsis of Weapons reads: ‘When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.’ 

In it Madigan portrays Gladys who is the elderly relative of Cary Christopher’s character Alex Lilly who is the only child who did not disappear.

The second award of the night was groundbreaking as KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Animated Feature Film.

The Netflix film triumphed over Arco, Elio, Little Amelie or the Character of Rain, and Zootopia 2.

Meanwhile, The Girl Who Cried Pearls earned Best Animated Short Film.

Cassandra Kulukundis earned the first ever Best Casting Academy Award for her work in One Battle After Another. 

Best Live-Action Short Film was decided by a rare tie as The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva were both honored. 

Gullermo del Toro’s Frankenstein was also a big winner as the Netflix film earned two.

The dramatic reimaging earned both Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Kate Hawley accepted the costume award while Jordan Samuel, Mike Hill, and Cliona Furey took home the one for makeup and hair.

The beginning of the gala saw Conan O’Brien, 62, returning to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel. 

Amy Madigan took home the first award at the Oscars 2026 on Sunday night

The 75-year-old veteran actress earned Best Supporting Actress for her work in Zach Creggar supernatural mystery horror film Weapons

During the speech, Madigan was visibly nervous as she ended it by thanking her husband of over four decades, fellow actor Ed Harris

Madigan has been married to Harris, 75, since 1983 as they have one child together – 32-year-old daughter Lily Dolores Harris – whom they welcomed a decade later in 1993

The synopsis of the film reads: ‘When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance’

He started off the show with a hilarious pre-taped segment where he channeled Amy Madigan’s character from Weapons and was chased by children while making cameos in several Oscar-nominated films including Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, and Sinners.

He went on to do his monologue as he joked about AI, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, and the year in film. 

The 98th Academy Awards are celebrating the best films of 2025, with the glitzy ceremony taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. 

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, the most for any film in Academy Awards history.

The horror flick is one of the ten films up for Best Picture alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.

Sinners star Michael B. Jordan faces a stacked Best Actor category, competing against fellow nominees Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners follows twin brothers (both played by Jordan) who return to their hometown only to face a supernatural evil. 

The Best Actor race is currently a dead heat. While Chalamet dominated the early season with wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards, the momentum shifted after Jordan won at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards.

The second award of the night was groundbreaking as KPop Demon Hunters earned Best Animated Feature Film (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong are seen left to right)

Meanwhile, The Girl Who Cried Pearls earned Best Animated Short Film (Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis are seen accepting the honor)

Cassandra Kulukundis earned the first ever Best Casting Academy Award for her work in One Battle After Another

Gullermo del Toro’s Frankenstein was also a big winner as the Netflix film earned two including Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling (pictured: Kate Hawley)

Kate Hawley accepted the costume award while Jordan Samuel, Mike Hill, and Cliona Furey (pictured left to right)  took home the one for makeup and hair

Adding to the tension, the ceremony arrives on the heels of Chalamet’s controversial comments about how ‘no one cares’ about ballet or opera, which sparked a wave of backlash from the arts community. 

Based on the life of professional ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme stars Chalamet as a table tennis prodigy in 1950s New York whose ambition to become world champion jeopardizes his personal relationships. 

Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Hamnet. She faces a star-studded field including Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I Would Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia). 

Helmed by 2021’s Best Director winner Chloe Zhao, Hamnet dives into the reimagined story of William Shakespeare’s home life and how the death of his 11-year-old son provided the emotional blueprint for his masterpiece, Hamlet. 

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations.

Just before that Conan O’Brien, 62, returned to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel

Along with a Best Director nod, the film also nabbed a Best Actor mention for DiCaprio, and Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.

The black comedy action-thriller follows a washed-up ex-revolutionary (DiCaprio) who is forced to come out from hiding to rescue his daughter, after she is targeted by his former nemesis, a corrupt military officer (Penn). 

Aside from Penn and del Toro, the Best Supporting Actor category includes Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value). 

Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) were the most notable snubs from the category. 

Timothee Chalamet was seen arriving to his seat with girlfriend Kylie Jenner 

Kylie stunned in a shimmering red-number

Frankenstein and Sentimental Value both earned nine nominations at this year’s ceremony. 

She could be seen shaking hands with fellow attendees 

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a lavish reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic, focusing on a heart-wrenching tale of a father’s rejection and a creature’s quest for love. 

Meanwhile, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value follows two sisters forced to reconcile with their estranged filmmaker father. 

Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).

There was a massive backlash after Ariana Grande was snubbed in the Supporting category for Wicked: For Good. 

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another landed in second place with 13 nominations, including Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Teyana Taylor

She had been nominated last year for her work in the first film of the musical franchise.

Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, netted nine Oscar nods, with leading man Timothee Chalamet up for Best Actor and the movie nominated for Best Picture

Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, which is also up for Best Picture

Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia earned a Best Actress nod for Emma Stone

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein secured nine nominations. Leading the film’s acting honors is Jacob Elordi, who earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of the Creature

Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of nominations. This came despite an acclaimed leading performance by Cynthia Erivo, as well as new songs written for the film, including No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble.

Gwyneth Paltrow was also left off the list in the category for her work in Marty Supreme. 

There was a new award announced this year for Best Casting as the inaugural field includes: Nina Gold – Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another, Gabriel Domingues – The Secret Agent, and Francine Maisler – Sinners.

The ceremony kicked off at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT, airing live on ABC and streaming live on Hulu. It will also be streaming via Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.