Halcyon Promise

Of a new generation, Hollywood son Hopper Penn slips into the spotlight.

- Jennifer Piejko

PEAK SUNSHINE HOURS in Santa Monica, California, have a way of adorning just about anyone with a superstar sparkle; if it were a filter, it might be called radiant promise, or halcyon slant, with a light shower of citron stars and a delicate halo effect. Still, celebrities—the very embodiment of these sunny stars—invariably seem to have one subtle layer of filter lifted from over them: undraped and crystal clear.

It’s not clear what exactly would cause such an effect; perhaps it’s the constant harsh exposure from paparazzi flashes or stage lights that causes such cracks in the varnish. Or it may be simply the naked vulnerability that choosing to become a performer requires of someone. The process is gradual but noticeable; a veil of mystery and guardedness eventually replacing it. But, for right now, there is only sunny anticipation for Hopper Penn, a young actor, who, despite icily flaxen, champagne-tinted hair peaking out from underneath a worn-in baseball cap and skate-park–ready T-shirt, has something—a distinct yet unplaceable nose and crystalline arctic gaze—that lends him an opaquely familiar air. There’s an uncanny quality to his presence, at once recognizable and brand new. Though on-camera and red-carpet appearances are just beginning for the actor, it’s not until he’s placed within a Hollywood and familial context that suddenly—of course!—we know that face: His parents are actors Sean Penn and Robin Wright.