Sean Penn's son Hopper details 'strict' upbringing with actor father

‘s son Hopper has revealed how he ‘butted heads for a long time’ with his actor father while growing up, in a searing new interview with .

Aspiring actor Hopper, 29, who previously credited his father, 62, for saving his life when he battled crystal meth addiction as a teen, said the Milk star was a ‘strict’ parent but has chilled out with age.

Appearing in People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue as part of a portfolio on famous sons, Hopper said: ‘He was strict, and I was always getting into trouble. We butted heads for a long time. But it’s very lax now. He’s chilled out in his older age!

Hopper has previously spoken openly about his father’s ‘tough love’ approach after he developed substance abuse issues- following Sean’s divorce from his mother Robin Wright in 2010 after 14-years of marriage.

Discussing his relationship with his father now, he added: ‘My dad is really into FaceTime and texting. But when he texts, they’re like novels. He has to send them in increments. So I rarely read them!’

Hopper said his favorite films Sean has made are 2008’s Milk (which netted him a Best Actor Oscar) and 1985’s The Falcon and the Snowman.

He said: ‘When he went to Haiti [after the catastrophic 2010 earthquake], I’d never seen that side of him. It was just immediate, and he was really smart with it. Emergency mode is his place. I feel like he’s the calmest when chaos is going on. It’s really great.’

The star added that he maintains a close relationship with mom Robin, adding: ‘Our humor is the same!’

Sean and Robin are also parents to daughter Dylan, 31. 

Hopper also opened up about his upbringing in Northern California which was ‘pretty separate’ from the Hollywood epicenter which his famous parents dominated.

The Cleaner star said he was aware that Sean and Robin ‘were known’ — and when he moved to LA fellow students commented on them, leading him to feel awkward.

In 2017 Hopper admitted that his past drug struggles would have taken his life if it hadn’t been for father Sean. 

Speaking to ES Magazine, Hopper said: ‘I was doing a lot of stuff but meth was the main one that brought me down. I went to rehab because I woke up in hospital and my dad said, «Rehab? Or bus bench?» I was like, «I’ll take the bed.»

‘Thank God I got out of that because that was the worst time in my life. Because it’s not fun when it gets to a point where you just need it.’  

The interview comes days after Sean gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr his Oscar, telling him to bring it back to Malibu when his nation emerges victorious from the war with .

The actor and director has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine since war broke out in February and had already travelled to twice this year prior to today’s trip.

Returning to the Ukrainian capital to see Zelensky, whom he earlier referred to as his ‘great friend’, Penn was filmed withdrawing one of his from a bag and placing it on the Ukrainian president’s desk.

‘This is for you,’ the actor told Zelensky. ‘It’s just a symbolic silly thing, but if I know this is here with you then I’ll feel better and stronger for the fight…

‘When you win, bring it back to Malibu. I’ll feel much better knowing a piece of me is here,’ he concluded. 

Zelensky, who prior to his entry into politics was a well-known actor and comedian, was clearly flattered and gratefully accepted the Oscar statuette, describing it as a ‘great honour’.

He was later seen carefully placing the golden trophy on the mantelpiece in his presidential office.

Zelensky in turn presented Penn with a Ukrainian Order of Merit to thank him ‘for his sincere support and significant contribution to the popularisation of Ukraine in the world’.  

Penn, who won a pair of Best Actor academy awards for his performances in Mystic River (2003) and Milk, is one of several prominent US actors to have made the journey to Ukraine since Russian tanks rolled across the border on February 24.

He was banned from entering Russia in September when Vladimir Putin’s foreign ministry added him, along with Ben Stiller, to a list of US citizens barred from the country due to his overt criticism of the conflict.

Penn was in Ukraine recording a documentary when Russia invaded and was forced to flee, crossing into Poland like many Ukrainian refugees.

He has since expressed great admiration for Zelensky, and also admitted he’d considered taking up arms to fight alongside the Ukrainian military as it continues to battle Russian forces in Ukraine’s south east.