A Sean Penn Top 10

Why do we love Sean Penn? Perhaps it’s because the director of this week’s biggest piece of featurized nonfiction, which takes Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” back into the wilderness, as well as into the theaters near you, has moved from cultural icon to cultural hero. A persona that’s occupied too many genres to name since he rolled onto the landscape with his Valley stoner in “Fast Times at Ridgement High,” Penn’s recreated himself as America’s most fully functional adult, a contributor not only to Bay Area cultural life, but national and international dialogues of the utmost importance. He can take on the President, the paparazzi, and the possibilities for peace in our time. Let SF360 count the ways.

Why do we love Sean Penn?

1. Because he lives here.
2. Because someone is finally going to bring Harvey Milk back to life!
3. Because he is calling America on its lunacy over Iran.
4. Because he reported back to Iraq.
5. Because he really did attempt to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
6. Because he discovered a new fan in Venezuela.
7. Because he finds a way to get George Bush to read.
8. Because he found his way out of a marriage to this.
9. Because he can fully transform himself into character without the use of drugs.
10. Because he gave poetry a shot with Stephen Colbert.