---
name: "Chris Penn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/chris-penn"
fi1m_id: "chris-penn"
imdb_id: "nm0001606"
tmdb_id: 2969
wikidata_id: "Q297744"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "10 October 1965"
died: "24 January 2006"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 9
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 9
updated: "2026-10-05T01:18:16.901324+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Chris Penn

## Identity

Chris Penn

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/chris-penn
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** chris-penn
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001606
- **TMDB ID:** 2969
- **Wikidata ID:** Q297744
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Penn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q297744, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001606/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2969

Actor. Born 10 October 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 24 January 2006.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 10 October 1965, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 24 January 2006
- **Active:** 1983–2004
- **Also known as:** Christopher Penn, Кристофер Пенн, 	Christopher Shannon Penn
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as actor, over 9 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 75 (3), 1990s 76 (5), 2000s 63 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 70 across 8 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 5 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 7 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Comedy 4, Crime 4, Romance 3, Action 2, Family 1
- **Screen time:** 15 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $508m across 8 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Penn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q297744, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001606/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2969

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Footloose*](https://film.one/film/footloose.md) (72)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Rush Hour*](https://film.one/film/rush-hour.md) (70)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Chris Penn

> Chris Penn made tough men look liable to lose control, with a restless physical energy that could be funny and uncomfortable at once. His ensemble work rewards attention, even when the writing is too quick to condemn the people he plays.

In *Reservoir Dogs* (1992), Chris Penn's Eddie Cabot bounces about in a tracksuit top while Lawrence Tierney, playing his crime-boss father, barks. Penn makes an untidy, excitable figure among the men arguing in Quentin Tarantino's warehouse. We found him funny and unsettling, because that restless movement belongs to the boss's volatile son, who is hardly there to calm things down. Tarantino gets good work from the contrast between Penn's physical bustle and the other actors' ways of holding their ground. It is a supporting performance worth watching even when somebody else is speaking.

The early supporting parts included *Rumble Fish* (1983), *Footloose* (1984) and *Pale Rider* (1985). The breakthrough came with *Reservoir Dogs* and Robert Altman's *Short Cuts* (1993), two films that give their ensembles plenty to do. He was frequently cast as tough, volatile working-class men, but brought vulnerability to the menace. That mattered more than making each character look formidable, and helps explain why these ensembles suited him.

In *Short Cuts*, he plays Jerry Kaiser, a troubled pool cleaner. Penn recalled Altman asking for a cowardly, emotionally overwhelmed man whose feelings did not quite connect, which is more useful direction than simply asking an actor to be threatening. It also suggests why Penn's toughness could be uncomfortable: there was a weakness there that the character could not manage. We rate the film highly for its absorbing ensemble, while finding the writing occasionally too ready to judge the people in it. That caveat matters with an actor whose usefulness lies partly in making an unpleasant man worth a closer look.

*True Romance* (1993) gave him another Tarantino-scripted part as Nicky Dimes, and *The Funeral* (1996) offered further intense dramatic work as Chez. He continued across drama, action and comedy without fully establishing himself as a leading man. We would not treat supporting billing as a disappointment: the work with Tarantino and Altman gives us no reason to. Start with *Reservoir Dogs*, then try *Short Cuts*, allowing for Altman's occasional harshness towards characters his actors have made worth knowing.

## Biography

Chris Penn was an American actor. Born Christopher Shannon Penn in Los Angeles in 1965, he was the son of director and actor Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, and the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. He began acting as a teenager and made his film debut in the late 1970s.

Penn appeared in films including *Footloose* (1984), *Pale Rider* (1985) and *At Close Range* (1986). He played Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in Quentin Tarantino’s *Reservoir Dogs* (1992) and Nicky Dimes in *True Romance* (1993). Other credits include *Short Cuts* (1993) and *Rush Hour* (1998). In 1996 he won the Volpi Cup for Best Supporting Actor at the Venice Film Festival for *The Funeral*.

Penn died in Santa Monica, California, in 2006 at the age of 40.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (9)

- *Entourage* (2004), Fi1m 63, as Chris Penn — [page](https://film.one/tv/entourage.md)
- *Rush Hour* (1998), Fi1m 70, as Clive — [page](https://film.one/film/rush-hour.md)
- *Beethoven's 2nd* (1993), Fi1m 57, as Floyd — [page](https://film.one/film/beethovens-2nd.md)
- *Short Cuts* (1993), Fi1m 84, as Jerry Kaiser — [page](https://film.one/film/short-cuts.md)
- *True Romance* (1993), Fi1m 82, as Nicky Dimes — [page](https://film.one/film/true-romance.md)
- *Reservoir Dogs* (1992), Fi1m 86, as "Nice Guy" Eddie Cabot — [page](https://film.one/film/reservoir-dogs.md)
- *Pale Rider* (1985), Fi1m 77, as Josh LaHood — [page](https://film.one/film/pale-rider.md)
- *Footloose* (1984), Fi1m 72, as Willard — [page](https://film.one/film/footloose.md)
- *Rumble Fish* (1983), Fi1m 77, as B.J. Jackson — [page](https://film.one/film/rumble-fish.md)

## Complete filmography (71)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Aftermath* (2013), as Tony Bricker
- *King of Sorrow* (2007), as Detective Enola
- *The Darwin Awards* (2007), as Tom
- *Holly* (2006), as Freddie
- *Best of Chris Isaak* (2006), as (segment "Somebody's Crying") (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Introduction* (2004), as Pulaski (voice)
- *After the Sunset* (2004), as Rowdy Fan
- *Footloose: A Modern Musical* (2004), Thanks
- *Entourage* (2004), series, as Chris Penn — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/entourage.md)
- *Starsky & Hutch* (2004), as Manetti
- *American Pie: Revealed* (2004), as Stifler's Dad
- *The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire* (2003), series, as Waylon Shaw
- *Masked and Anonymous* (2003), as Crew Guy #2
- *Shelter Island* (2003), as Sheriff Deluca
- *CSI: Miami* (2002), series, as Pete Wilton
- *Everwood* (2002), series, as Frank Sullivan
- *Stealing Harvard* (2002), as David Loach
- *Redemption* (2002), as Tony Leggio
- *Murder by Numbers* (2002), as Ray Feathers
- *AFP: American Fighter Pilot* (2002), series, Actor
- *Revealed with Jules Asner* (2001), series, Actor
- *Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)* (2001), as Bubba
- *Corky Romano* (2001), as Peter Romano
- *Law & Order: Criminal Intent* (2001), series, as Tommy Onerato
- *Bread and Roses* (2000), as Party Guest (uncredited)
- *Cement* (2000), as Bill Holt
- *The Florentine* (1999), as Bobbie
- *Family Attraction* (1998), as Father
- *One Tough Cop* (1998), as Duke Finnerly
- *Papertrail* (1998), as FBI Agent Jason Enola
- *Will & Grace* (1998), series, as Rudy
- *Rush Hour* (1998), as Clive — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/rush-hour.md)
- *Flagpole Special* (1998), Actor
- *Deceiver* (1997), as Detective Phillip Braxton
- *The Boys Club* (1996), as Luke
- *Sacred Cargo* (1996), as Vince Kanevsky
- *Dead Man's Walk* (1996), series, as Goodnight
- *Mulholland Falls* (1996), as Arthur Relyea
- *The Funeral* (1996), as Chez Tempio
- *Under the Hula Moon* (1995), as Turk Dickson
- *To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar* (1995), as Sheriff Dollard
- *Fist of the North Star* (1995), as Jackal
- *Imaginary Crimes* (1994), as Jarvis
- *Chicago Hope* (1994), series, as Kevin Fitzpatrick
- *Who Do You Think You're Fooling?* (1994), as Eddie Cabot (archive footage)
- *Beethoven's 2nd* (1993), as Floyd — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/beethovens-2nd.md)
- *Josh & S.A.M.* (1993), as Derek Baxter
- *Short Cuts* (1993), as Jerry Kaiser — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/short-cuts.md)
- *True Romance* (1993), as Nicky Dimes — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/true-romance.md)
- *The Music of Chance* (1993), as Floyd
- *The Pickle* (1993), as Gregory Stone
- *Best of the Best 2* (1993), as Travis Brickley
- *Reservoir Dogs* (1992), as "Nice Guy" Eddie Cabot — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/reservoir-dogs.md)
- *Leather Jackets* (1992), as Big Steve
- *Future Kick* (1991), as Bang
- *Mobsters* (1991), as Tommy Reina
- *Best of the Best* (1989), as Travis Brickley
- *The Young Riders* (1989), series, Actor
- *Return from the River Kwai* (1989), as Lieutenant Crawford
- *Made in U.S.A.* (1987), as Tuck
- *Faerie Tale Theatre: Rip Van Winkle* (1987), as Will Tussenbrook
- *At Close Range* (1986), as Thomas 'Tommy' Whitewood
- *North Beach and Rawhide* (1985), as Dan Donnelly
- *Pale Rider* (1985), as Josh LaHood — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/pale-rider.md)
- *The Wild Life* (1984), as Tom Drake
- *Footloose* (1984), as Willard — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/footloose.md)
- *All the Right Moves* (1983), as Brian Riley
- *Rumble Fish* (1983), as B.J. Jackson — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/rumble-fish.md)
- *Faerie Tale Theatre* (1982), series, as Will Tussenbrook
- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, as Wounded Soldier
- *Charlie and the Talking Buzzard* (1979), as Pete (as Christopher Penn)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/chris-penn