Sean Penn Recalls Working With Steve Bannon In 90’s Film ‘The Indian Runner’

Sean Penn recalled working with former White House advisor Steve Bannon on Conan Thursday night – however, they were not fond memories.

Bannon had produced the 1991 film The Indian Runner, which was also Penn’s directorial debut. The film starred Viggo Mortensen and David Morse, the story was set in 1960s Nebraska and revolved around two very different brothers: a small-town deputy sheriff and a criminal.

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With a serious face, Penn sarcastically said, “I would say he exerted the same level of charm he does today.”

“I didn’t even know it was the same Steve Bannon until I looked at him closely and imagined the Steve Bannon I knew but where the toxins of the soul so deteriorate and bloat and weld into this,” Penn said. “I don’t think you can age like that without hating people.”

Penn explained that his biggest problem with Bannon back then was his lack of regard for the budget of The Indian Runner. Penn also believed that Bannon flew some women out to the set for his enjoyment, and then had their expenses covered within the film’s budget, which was already limited.

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“I noticed that, without any need for them, we had two cheerleader-looking new makeup assistants on the call sheet that, as the director of that movie, I had not called for and yet it was on my very minimal budget to make this film,” he explained. “That was my first sense of him, that he was other than the C word, charming, he was a crook, I think is what I thought.”

Penn has been making a lot of appearances on late-night talk shows, all to promote his new novel Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff. Earlier this week he had a bizarre appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he was on Ambien and smoking mid-interview.