Sean Penn talks Oscars, Haiti and Bruce Jenner

Sean Penn wields firearms with tactical ease in his new action thriller,The Gunman and fires up a candid conversation with USA TODAY. Read on for his take on directing girlfriend Charlize Theron, progress in Haiti, Bruce Jenner's crash and feeling out of like a fish out of water in Hollywood.

On his canon of work:

Penn's work has earned him five Oscar nominations and two best actor wins (Mystic River, Milk). But movie-making is an ephemeral experience for the actor. "Honestly within a week after I've finished shooting a film I've almost forgotten it," says Penn.

Awarded the honorary César award in France recently, Penn took in a clip reel of his life's work."I remember playing none of those scenes – none of them. I remembered the movies...I virtually didn't remember saying the words that I said. I saw myself in scenes with actors I didn't even know I'd ever worked with!"

"I remember I was talking to Marlon Brando one time and he said (Penn assumes Brando's voice), 'Did you ever see a movie called On the Waterfront? There's this scene I'm in the back of a taxi cab–' I said 'Yeah, with Rod Steiger. He says no, 'What was the name of the actor in the scene?' I said. 'Rod Steiger.' 'No, what the (expletive) was that guy's name? It went on. I said Marlon, "It's Rod Steiger. (Pause.) Brando goes, 'Really? Is he still alive?"

On Haiti:

Penn is still in Haiti on average once a month, and says five years after the catastrophic earthquake hit the country progress on the ground is heartening. "I would say that we've recovered from the earthquake with the significant exception of about 60,000 people who are still displaced," he says.

But the actor appears frustrated by negative stories written by what he terms "largely left journalists (who) do not have a perspective that isn't American," particularly regarding the Haitian minimum wage (currently set at $5.12). "You say, 'OK really, are you creating a sweatshop if you pay someone five times what they've been paid and allow them freedom to organize? In other words, is it enough to invest in an industry that hires 2,000 people in a sector, and let them fight for the other $10 dollars? I think it is."

On Hollywood:

Over thirty years in the business and the tuxedo parade hasn't gotten any more palatable. "Red carpets are uncomfortable," he says. "Being photographed is uncomfortable. It's got nothing to do with being an actor, it's just got to do with being me." Before a big event, "you gotta suit up and take a deep breath and look for your real smile. You might even be happy that day but it's hard to smile because you can feel the muscles in your face. I'm self-conscious under those circumstances."

On the Oscars:

Penn is equally as upfront about the Oscars, which this year saw a ratings dive and had guests in their seats for almost four backside-numbing hours. "I didn't go for most of the times I was nominated simply because it's socially uncomfortable," he says. "It's really like mainlining discomfort, because you're going in a room full of people you haven't seen. Like if you're going into a restaurant and there's too many people you haven't seen or called in a year. That's already uncomfortable. It's like, 'Hi, I didn't call for this reason.'

Or then you have all the people you don't want to see and you have all the people looking at you. I hate that. I don't mind going there if you go in the back door and give out an award or something. But sitting in that seat, that's a long sit."

On directing Charlize:

Penn is currently editing his international aid drama The Last Face (starring Charlize Theron and Javier Barden) and calls Theron an emotionally and technically gifted actor. "I really wish this could translate without the bias of the personal relationship – she is a director's dream."

He smiles when talking about her. "She's a woman," he says.

Will The Last Face make it to Cannes? "Cannes would be a fantastic place to show a film and I think this would be very relevant in Cannes, but I just don't know – we have to make sure we have the film on its own terms first. I'm just one foot in front of the other."

On Bruce Jenner's recent crash:

Penn says he's seen no change in paparazzi swarming over Theron and her young son, Jackson, despite new laws protecting celebrity children and the widely adopted #NoKidsPolicy. "Because there are too many other avenues they sell to," he says. "There's no accountability. And it's tricky because I've been in countries that don't have freedom of the press and you see how precious it is."

But, he says, pulling his phone out as a prop, "I'm driving in a car and I want to say I'll be five minutes late. It's against the law. Why? It's distracting. But it's not against the law for me to distract you if I'm a paparazzi. So if Bruce Jenner is being chased down the Pacific Coast Highway by a paparazzi, at the very least he's distracted."

On Twitter:

"I'm not interested in social media at this stage because I just feel it's fueled by the idiocracy in this country."