Why Sean Penn Says He Read the Entire "One Battle After Another" Script 'Dripping Naked on the Floor' Rachel RaposasSeptember 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM 4 Warner Bros.
- - Why Sean Penn Says He Read the Entire "One Battle After Another" Script 'Dripping Naked on the Floor'
Rachel RaposasSeptember 26, 2025 at 10:48 PM
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Warner Bros.
Sean Penn in 'One Battle After Another' -
Sean Penn decided to join One Battle After Another after reading the whole script in one sitting
Penn had just gotten out of the shower when he picked up the script — by the time he'd read the whole thing, he was completely dry
Penn plays Steven Lockjaw, a police officer, in the film that debuted on Sept. 26
Sean Penn knew immediately that he wanted to be in One Battle After Another.
The comedy-adventure film, which debuted in theaters on Sept. 26, follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a former revolutionary figure as he is hunted by Penn's police officer character, Steven Lockjaw. Penn told Entertainment Weekly that he first read the film's script in just one sitting — completely naked and dripping wet after a shower.
Penn admits that he dragged his feet for too long before finally deciding to read the script, and was "punishing" himself for continuously putting it off. He knew he needed to get back to the writer-director, Paul Thomas Anderson, so one night he bit the bullet and started reading.
Warner Bros.
Sean Penn in 'One Battle After Another'
"I came out of a shower late one night, and I was just walking to get dressed, and I had the script sitting there," Penn recalled. "And I thought, 'Okay, I'll read just one page.'"
"And I started to read, and I don't know, half a page, a page in," Penn continued. "I'm sitting there dripping naked on the floor reading a script until I drip-dried and finished it."
The entrancing script (roughly based on Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland) was an incredible showcase of Anderson's genius, Penn said. Before reading it, Penn didn't know exactly what to expect, but as he got deeper into the plot, Penn recalled, "It was just one page after another that skipped convention."
The script plus the already star-studded cast, featuring DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall and Benicio del Toro, ultimately pushed Penn to join the One Battle After Another. Penn previously worked with Anderson on the director's 2021 film, Licorice Pizza.
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Hall, who plays Deandra, spoke with PEOPLE in July and also praised Anderson's "genius" writing in the film, noting that "there's no part that's insignificant" in the movie.
"Even if they have one line, he's so deliberate in his filmmaking," Hall said. "And I'm really excited for audiences to experience the film."
One Battle After Another is now in theaters.
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