Sean Penn wept for dead Ukrainian fighter pilot he took to see ‘Top Gun: Maverick’: ‘He was a great leader’

22 November 2023

Sean Penn wept for a dead Ukrainian fighter pilot who he took to see ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.

Sean Penn wept for a dead Ukrainian fighter pilot who he took to see ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

The ’21 Grams’ actor, 63, was overwhelmed with emotion on Piers Morgan’s TalkTV show on Tuesday (21.11.23) night, on which he revealed how he dedicated his documentary about the Ukraine war to the fighter whose call sign was Juice – and whose real name was Andriy Pilshchikov.

Sean said: “I would like to say we became friends. We kept in touch after we spent time in Washington.

“He was a great leader. He is a guy who believed he owed his country his service.

“Most people know that movie, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, and we were watching it in DC.

“I was sitting next to him and he leaned over at one point after Tom Cruise had ejected and found his way in his dusty flight suit to the diner, and he leaned over and he said, ‘That’s why I always take my wallet’.”

Sean and ‘Juice’ became close pals while making his film on the Ukraine war titled ‘Superpower’.

He added about his sadness at hearing of the flier’s death: “It’s personalised, and it’s personalised tens of thousands of times.”

The Oscar winner travelled to Ukraine seven times with his film crew to make his film on the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia, and it premiered in February at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Juice died in a training crash in August and after his death, Eric Swalwell, an American lawyer and politician posted an Instagram tribute to the fighter alongside a photo of him, Juice and Sean.

He said: “Rest in Peace, Juice. We lost a Ukrainian fighter pilot – leader of the Ghost of Kyiv unit.

“I promised Juice I’d keep working to get fighter jets to Ukraine. Their fight for freedom is our fight”.

Penn has called on American President Joe Biden to do more to support Ukraine including sending fighter jets.

He also revealed to Piers he uses toilet paper with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin’s face on it, and when the host asked him: “Have you really?”, Sean replied: “Yes, somebody gave it to me.”