“You tolerate me, you really tolerate me.” —Penn*

Loved by the tabloids for his rather colorful personality (not to mention having been married to Madonna), Sean Penn continues to present viewing audiences with work that is infinitely interesting than his highly publicized, supposedly controversial private life. Since his debut in "Taps" (1981), Penn has proven to be one of the most unusual, eclectic, and multitalented actors. His filmography is long and varied — including lead roles in "Bad Boys" (1983), "At Close Range" (1986), "Colors" (1988), "Carlito's Way" (1993), "The Game" (1997), and "The Thin Red Line" (1998) - but his inclination towards projects that explore the darkest of human emotions is quite obvious. Penn's most critically acclaimed roles are exemplary of the actor's fascination with and understanding of the human psyche: His portrayal of a death row inmate in "Dead Man Walking" (1995) earned him an Oscar nomination, and in 1997, he received the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award for "She's So Lovely," where he played a man who is released from a 10-year stay in a mental institution to find his wife married to another. Incredible performances notwithstanding, Penn has been vocal about his desire to give up acting since his appearance as an undercover cop in "State of Grace" (1990) — in favor of writing, producing, and directing his own projects. Penn has been quoted as saying that acting is a financial decision, while writing and directing are his true passions. Although "The Pledge" is only the third film directed by Penn (and the only one where he didn't originate the script), it is already obvious that he is looking at a long and interesting career on the other side of the camera. His 1991 directorial debut, "The Indian Runner," was pure character work, slightly marred by an unoriginal premise which contrasts two brothers "on the opposite sides of the law." "The Crossing Guard" (1995) was a story of a man destroyed by the death of his daughter, starring Jack Nicholson, who returns as Jerry Black in "The Pledge." The latter also reunites the director with his real-life wife, Robin Wright Penn, who starred opposite Penn in the previously mentioned "She's So Lovely" and the 1998 film "Hurlyburly" — an intriguing whack job of a movie I highly recommend seeing. Penn, Kevin Spacey, and Chazz Palminteri put on one hell of a show as a trio of completely dysfunctional friends who share a house, every woman who passes through it, and all the drugs a man could ever need. Currently, Penn has two finished scripts ready to go; whatever his next project is, it should be just as interesting as everything else he's ever done.