Sean Penn recently said in an interview with The New York Times that 2008’s “Milk” was “the last time I had a good time” on a film set, adding: “I went 15 years miserable on sets.” While Penn earned critical acclaim and his second Oscar for best actor thanks to his portrayal of the openly gay politician Harvey Milk, he told The Times he could not star in the film today as straight actors playing queer characters has become too hotly debated in Hollywood.

“No. It could not happen in a time like this,” Penn said about not playing Harvey Milk in 2024. “It’s a time of tremendous overreach. It’s a timid and artless policy toward the human imagination.”

As for his 15 miserable years on film sets, Penn said it was because he felt like “an actor who is playing a leading role and is a known actor and is...