Penn agrees to play Oscars game

SEAN PENN finally played nice with the Oscars, and the Oscars played nice right back, with Academy Awards voters naming Penn best actor for Mystic River.

Penn turned up and graciously accepted the award the first time the actor has attended the Oscars in the four times he has been nominated. A critic of the war in Iraq, Penn injected a touch of politics into his acceptance speech.

"If there's one thing that actors know, other than there weren't any WMDs, it's that there is no such thing as best in acting," he said, referring to weapons of mass destruction. "And that's proven by these great actors that I was nominated with."

Penn, 43, was previously nominated as lead actor for 1995's Dead Man Walking, 1999's Sweet and Lowdown and 2001's I Am Sam. He has been dismissive of film honours in the past and was criticised last month when he skipped the Golden Globes, where he won the dramatic-actor honour for Mystic River. Since then, Penn has turned up at other film honours and a luncheon for Oscar nominees, a sign he was willing to play the game.

In director Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, Penn plays an ex-hoodlum who reverts to his criminal ways as he seeks revenge for his daughter's death. He paid tribute to the director in his acceptance speech. "I really thank Clint Eastwood, professionally and humanly, for coming into my life," he said.