Chris Penn

Biography

Born on October 10, 1965 in Los Angeles, California, Penn's parents both worked in film. His father Leo Penn was an actor-turned-director, and his mother Eileen Ryan was an actress. The youngest of three brothers, (the other two being Michael Penn and Sean Penn) Penn set out to follow in his parents' footsteps. He started acting at age 12 in the Loft Studio. While in high school he and his brother Sean made several shorts with their classmates, which included such would-be stars as Emilio Estevez and Rob Lowe. Penn made his onscreen debut in the Christopher Cain movie, Charlie and the Talking Buzzard (1979). After a few years Penn caught the eye of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, who cast him in a supporting role in the teen drama Rumble Fish (1983). Although the film was a flop critically and commercially, Penn's career was well under way.That same year he acted in All the Right Moves (1983), a high school drama film starring a young Tom Cruise. The next year Penn gave a performance in Footloose (1984), starring Kevin Bacon and dealing with a small town which bans rock & roll music. The movie was a smash hit, and remains a classic to this day. Penn followed this up with a villainous role in Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider (1985), and the crime movie At Close Range (1986), starring Christopher Walken.Penn acted in a few smaller productions until he was cast as Travis Brickley in the sports drama Best of the Best (1989). Penn's character is a martial arts fighter who joins the other main characters when they enter a tae kwon do tournament against the Korean team. The movie spawned several sequels, though Penn only appeared in the first and second films. A few more jobs followed until Penn landed what is known as his most famous movie: Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir…