CHRIS PENN made his film debut in his teens as part of the famous “Brat Pack” and had starring roles in Quentin Tarantino’s cult thriller Reservoir Dogs (1992) and the Robert Altman drama Short Cuts (1993). There was a brief period when it looked as if he might become an important star, but in recent years he had slipped back into supporting roles and he never truly emerged from the shadow of his elder brother, Sean.
A big, burly figure, Chris Penn brought an obvious menace to the screen, in roles such as Nice Guy Eddie in Reservoir Dogs. But he could also be surprisingly vulnerable. He recalled Altman briefing him on his character in Short Cuts: “He’s this kinda pathetic, kinda cowardly guy, who, you know, is overwhelmed by emotions, and his emotional wires sort of don’t connect. And in the end he beats a girl to death with a rock . . . The thing is I really want to like him.” Penn just about managed to pull it off, so that the denouement comes as a great shock.
Latterly he alternated small roles in blockbuster movies such as Starsky & Hutch (2004) with bigger parts in independent films in the hope that one might prove to be another Reservoir Dogs and revive his fortunes. He seemed to struggle with his weight and had a history of drug problems, leading to speculation over the cause of death.
Christopher Penn was born in Los Angeles in 1965, the son of the TV director Leo Penn and the actress Eileen Ryan. He was the younger brother of Michael, a composer and musician, and Sean, the Oscar- winner who was married to Madonna and is regarded as one of the best film actors of his generation.
By his early teens he was acting on stage and making his own home-movie dramas with his friends, Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. He was also a keen boxer and wrestler and a karate expert.
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His first significant film was Rumble Fish in 1983, Francis Ford Coppolla’s expressionist gang drama with a cast that included Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke and Nicolas Cage. Later that year he appeared in the sports movie All the Right Moves with another Brat Pack member, Tom Cruise, and in 1984 he delivered a memorable performance in Footloose. A scene in which Kevin Bacon attempts to teach him to dance has become a classic.
Over the next few years he built a solid career, serving as villain in Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider (1985) and co-starring with his brother and mother (who played their grandmother) in the drama At Close Range (1986). He was an officer in Return from the River Kwai (1989) and a karate champion in Best of the Best (1989) and its sequel.
But Penn admitted he had “a substance problem and an attitude problem and a lot of other problems” and found it increasingly difficult to get work before Harvey Keitel directed him towards the low-budget thriller Reservoir Dogs. Violent but enormously stylish, it became an immediate cult hit, and Penn’s character was the subject of lengthy internet debate, over who killed him in the famous Mexican standoff at the end.
There were supporting roles in True Romance (1993), Beethoven’s 2nd (1993) and Rush Hour (1998), and he was a lead in the impressive period thriller Mulholland Falls (1996). But it did disappointing box-office business, and Penn’s career stalled again. There were further personal problems, and in 2003 it was reported that he was ejected from a Hollywood nightclub for fighting with a dwarf. His later films include Murder by Numbers (2002), Stealing Harvard (2002) and After the Sunset (2004). Although many critics feel Penn was underrated, he always seemed more suited to character roles than leads.
The premiere of The Darwin Awards, with Joseph Fiennes and Winona Ryder, was to be held at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah last night. The Darwin Awards “honour” those who have removed themselves from the human gene pool through their own sheer stupidity. Penn played a duck-hunter who tried to blow a hole in a frozen lake with dynamite, only to have his dog retrieve the lit explosive.
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Chris Penn, actor, was born on October 10, 1965. He was found dead on January 24, 2006, aged 40.