Mickey Rourke is way much better than him. His performance in The Wrestler is my #3 movie performances of all time.
There's something wrong with Esther.

I would have given Best Actor to Frank Langella that year. Sean Penn had already won that award for his work in
Mystic River
five years earlier. But the Oscars don't always spread the wealth even when they have a good opportunity to do so.

I don't know about Penn's voice though. He spoke with that funny sounding "feminine" voice just like many gay people do but I just watched some Harvey Milk interviews and speeches and he didn't sound like that at all. He used his natural voice and did not alter it to "gay voice".

Mickey Rourke may have had the role of his life, but compare his performance to Penn's and you see why Sean Penn won and deserved to win.
Rourke did great and he acted good, although to be honest it wasn't really a challenge since he basically played himself.
Sean Penn on the other hand didn't act, he WAS Harvey Milk. Every movement, every speech, every gesture was pure Milk. It's like Milk returned to life or something.
And that's why Penn won the Oscar. There's a difference between acting and acting!
Penn became his character, and made you believe he was real. With Rourke you knew it was acting, good acting indeed but still acting!

Frank Langella for this year. That is all.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MoviePro84?feature=mhee
(Rate and Comment On Videos.)

I personally believe the award should've gone to Frank Langella for his portrayal of Richard Nixon. That was justa phenomenal performance

Looking back at that year, there were a lot of strong male lead performances. Personally, I feel Rourke and Penn were so evenly matched, and that the voters thought Rourke was in a sense playing himself (washed up), while Penn was way out of his comfort zone. I think that is why Penn won. And Rourke made out pretty well after The Wrestler (Iron Man 2, The Expendables), so don't feel too bad he lost.

Agree with the OP. Mickey Rourke should of won. Penn was good but Rourke was better.

The Oscar isn't supposed to go to the actor with the best performance in his pitiful career, it goes to the best performance of the year. Rourke in The Wrestler was nothing special in particular. He was basically playing himself.

I agree they were both great, but not with your reasoning as to why Rourke should've got it.
Just as well Javier Bardem didn't go up against them (for Actor) or he would've missed a well-deserved Oscar (for Supporting Actor).

I can't decide which one between Penn in this and Rourke in "The Wrestler" was better, but the Oscar should have gone to Rourke for the simple reason that in "The Wrestler" his was by far his best acting of his rather pitiful career, at least until that point, and may not happen again. Penn, on the other hand, has been in good movies and has had great roles in the past and will continue to do so in the future

Im with some of you here, and against others. For my money, Penn was good, but not great. Ill take Rourke over Penn for the oscar. I'd also take Richard Jenkins in the Visitor over Penn. Just my two cents.

I agree and disagree. Think DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road was the years best. Brolin deserved a little more recognition,though comparing him to Ledger might be like comparing christmas to cocaine.

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well it is VERY hard to decide.
This oscar choice is in one line with "Howard DiCaprio Hughes" vs. "Ray Foxx Charles".
I am JUST now watching Milk for the very first time and I believe every second of Penn's performance, as I did with Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. All of the four movies I mentioned are in my opinion equal to one another and therefore it's no use bashing any of it. They are top notch.

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Rourke played himself. Lol.

Shoulda been Rourke.

I think Penn was awesome

It could be as simple as the fact that Harvey Milk was a real person. Penn had the responsibility to capture his speech and mannerisms. Hollywood loves its biopics. Colin Firth just won for The Kings Speech,and James Franco and Jesse Eisenberg were both nominated, all playing real men. Daniel Day Lewis, Russell Crowe, Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Marion Cotillard, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Forrest Whitaker, Denzel Washington, Helen Mirren, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, and Nicole Kidman have all been nominated or won Oscars for portraying real people. That's a long list, and I had to stop somewhere. There are a lot more.

Sounds like you called Sean Penn ex-gay.
My ratings:
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur20655940/ratings

Then it wasnt so difficult for Mickey Rourke his performance in "The wrestler" cause he was a boxer in his youth.

Completely agree with spbutters. Milk was one of the most overrated oscar movies i have ever seen. I was truly dissapointed by this film. Penn was good, but it was not oscar performance. I didn't found his role to be so dificult to play.

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