Sean Penn (Sam Dawson)
Consistently astounding critics, his peers and audiences with his performances of uncommon intensity, range and intelligence, award-winning actor and acclaimed filmmaker Sean Penn has become one of the most respected and sought-after artists of his generation. With I Am Sam he delivers his most unusual and daring performance to date, starring as Sam Dawson, a man with the mind of a seven year-old but the heart of a fighter.

Penn made his feature film acting debut in 1981 in Harold Becker's Taps and went on to win over audiences as the ultimate pothead surfer Jeff Spicoli in Amy Heckerling's teen classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Among Penn's many praised film characterizations are the sleazy lawyer opposite Al Pacino in Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, for which he received a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor; an Irish-American mobster in State of Grace; a small-town boy drawn into a life of crime by his father in At Close Range; a young man who falls in love just as he is heading off to fight in World War II in the romance Racing with the Moon and a disillusioned American drug dealer-turned traitor in The Falcon and the Snowman.

In 1996, he received unanimous critical acclaim and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor for his galvanizing performance as a convicted murderer awaiting execution in Dead Man Walking. More recently, Penn has garnered critical praise in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line; Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown, for which he received both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations; the film version of David Rabe's stage play Hurly Burly, for which Penn won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival; Nick Cassavetes' She's So Lovely, for which Penn was honored with the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival; Oliver Stone's U-Turn; and David Fincher's The Game. He also recently starred in Up at the Villa, Before Night Falls and Weight of Water.

Behind the camera, Penn has written and directed the acclaimed dramatic feature films The Indian Runner starring David Morse, Viggo Mortensen, Patricia Arquette and Charles Bronson; The Crossing Guard starring Jack Nicholson, Anjelica Huston, David Morse and Robin Wright-Penn; and, most recently, The Pledge, starring Jack Nicholson, Vanessa Redgrave and Robin Wright-Penn.

Penn has also received accolades for his work on the stage. He made his Broadway debut in "Heartland" and most recently was seen in Sam Shepard's "The Late Henry Moss" in San Francisco.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Rita Harrison)
Three-time Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer turns in a surprising performance as Rita Harrison, an overtly ambitious, fast-lane lawyer who is focused 100% on success - until she meets Sam Dawson.

Pfeiffer gained her first Oscar nomination for her work in Dangerous Liaisons, for which she also won a BAFTA Award. She then earned both Oscar and BAFTA Award nominations and won a Golden Globe Award for her performance opposite Jeff and Beau Bridges in The Fabulous Baker Boys. Pfeiffer again garnered Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her work in Love Field. She has received additional Golden Globe nominations for Married To The Mob, The Russia House, Frankie and Johnny and Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence.

Pfeiffer made her feature film debut in Hollywood Knights and went on to gain international attention for her work opposite Al Pacino in Brian De Palma's Scarface. She later joined Cher and Susan Sarandon as The Witches of Eastwick, opposite Jack Nicholson.

Through her production company Via Rosa, Pfeiffer has developed her own projects, including Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres. She also produced and starred in the dramatic story of a mother's journey to recapture her relationship with her missing son in The Deep End of the Ocean.

Her diverse performances also include Ladyhawke, Tequila Sunrise, Batman Returns, Wolf, Dangerous Minds, Up Close & Personal, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, One Fine Day, the animated epic The Prince of Egypt, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Story of Us and most recently, the summer blockbuster smash What Lies Beneath, opposite Harrison Ford.

Pfeiffer will next be seen in the screen version of the bestselling novel White Oleander.

Dakota Fanning (Lucy Diamond Dawson)
Seven year-old Dakota Fanning stars as Sean Penn's extraordinary daughter, Lucy Diamond, who is forced into foster care on her 7th birthday. Fanning began her career at the age of five when she was picked from thousands of hopefuls for a national Tide commercial. She went on to land a co-starring role on television's "ER" and to appear on such prime-time shows as "Ally McBeal," "Strong Medicine," "C.S.I.," "The Practice," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Spin City." She most recently worked on writer/producer Edward Burns' pilot "The Fighting Fitzgeralds" for NBC.

Fanning's film roles include Tomcats, starring Jerry O'Connell, Shannon Elizabeth and Jake Busey and the AFI film Father X-Mas. Immediately after completing I Am Sam, Fanning went on to co-star in the Mandolin Entertainment/Propaganda thriller 24 Hours, co-starring Charlize Theron and Courtney Love. She will also appear in the upcoming Reese Witherspoon film, Sweet Home Alabama.

Dianne Wiest (Annie)
Dianne Wiest stars as Annie, Sam's sophisticated neighbor and 24-hour-a-day advisor who could be his best advocate - if she could leave the house. Wiest is perhaps best known for her unforgettable appearances in five Woody Allen films: The Purple Rose of Cairo, September, Radio Days, Hannah and Her Sisters, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Bullets over Broadway, for which she also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Ron Howard's Parenthood.

Currently, Wiest is also seen by television viewers as district attorney Nora Lewin in the acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning series "Law and Order." Among Wiest's extensive credits are such films as I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can, Footloose, The Lost Boys, Edward Scissorhands, Little Man Tate, The Scout, Cookie, Cops and Robbersons, The Birdcage, The Associate, Practical Magic, The Horse Whisperer and Portofino. She also starred in Peter Cohn's Drunks which was screened at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, where she was honored with the Piper-Heidsieck Tribute for Independent Vision.

Wiest, who began her career touring with the American Shakespeare Company, earned the Obie, Clarence Derwent and Theatre World Awards as Best Actress for her performance in the "The Art of Dining." She made her stage-directing debut with "Not About Heroes" at the Williamstown Playhouse and starred in "The Summer House" at the Lincoln Center. On television, Wiest also starred in the Canadian series " Road to Avonlea," for which she won an Emmy Award in 1997.

Doug Hutchison (Ifty)
Doug Hutchison, who underwent a profound transformation to play Sam's good friend Ifty, was most recently seen starring with Tom Hanks in The Green Mile and Jamie Foxx in Bait. His other film credits include A Time to Kill, Batman & Robin, Fresh Horses and The Chocolate War. Hutchison can be seen in the upcoming crime thriller The Salton Sea opposite Val Kilmer. He also recently wrapped No Good Deeds, starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Milla Jovovich.

Hutchison is well known for two memorable recurring roles on television -Eugene Victor Tooms on "The X-Files" and the Polaroid Man on "Millennium." He also appeared regularly on "Party of Five" and "Space: Above and Beyond" and was a series regular on "Skip Chasers," "Planet Rules" and "Local Heroes."

On the stage, Hutchison has won DramaLogue Awards for his performances in "The Other 5%" at the Santa Monica Powerhouse Theatre and in "The Eight" at the Circle X Theatre in Hollywood. He has also appeared at the Los Angeles Mark Taper Forum in "Julius Caesar" and "Hope of the Heart," with the Yale Repertory in "The My House Play" and Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in "Sparks in the Park."

A Detroit native, Hutchison attended the renowned Julliard School of Drama in New York City. He has also trained under legendary acting coach Sanford Meisner and made his professional acting debut in the lead role of Garson Kanin's play "Time and Chance."

Stanley DeSantis (Robert)
Stanley DeSantis portrays Sam's close comrade Robert, a man who takes paranoia to comical extremes. DeSantis received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Norman Neal Williams in the American Playhouse presentation of Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City." Other credits for this versatile actor include Ed Wood, Bulworth, Truth About Cats and Dogs, The Birdcage, Fools Rush In, Rush Hour, Clockwatchers, The Fan and, most recently, The Man Who Wasn't There. He will next be seen in the upcoming films Human Nature and Prime Gig.

Brad Allan Silverman (Brad)
Brad Allan Silverman was the inspirational subject of the ABC television special "The Kid Who Wouldn't Quit." The tremendous response to the special led him to supporting roles on "Quantum Leap" and "Life Goes On." Silverman has also appeared in L.A. Goal productions of "Jukebox Jam," "Cats" and "Peter Pan."

Born and raised in Glendale, California, Silverman enjoys many sports and is an active artist at L.A. Goal's Inside Out Productions.

Joseph Rosenberg (Joe)
Joseph Rosenberg has appeared in L.A. Goal productions of "Fiddler on the Roof," "Cats," The Wizard of Oz" and "Peter Pan." An active sports enthusiast, Rosenburg is a current member of the Los Angeles Special Olympics basketball and bowling teams. His artwork has also been featured in L.A. Goal's exhibitions.

Born in Uruguay, Rosenberg grew up in Los Angeles and is a graduate of Fairfax High School. He has been an active member of L.A Goal for over twenty years, serving as president during 2000.

Richard Schiff (Turner)
Richard Schiff adds another rich character to his roster with Turner, the County lawyer who passionately battle Michelle Pfeiffer in court. Schiff is perhaps best known as Toby Ziegler on the Award-winning television series "The West Wing," for which he won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor. But Schiff is also noted for a wide variety of character-driven performances that has made him one of our most prolific character actors today.

An accomplished veteran of over 40 feature film roles, Schiff has been seen in such diverse films as Malcolm X, Hoffa, City Hall, Seven, Michael, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Deep Impact, Dr. Dolittle, Living Out Loud, Forces of Nature, Heaven and most recently Gun Shy, Whatever It Takes, Forever Lulu and Lucky Numbers.

On television, Schiff has also guest starred on "Ally McBeal," "The Practice," "ER," "Murder One," "NYPD Blue," "LA Law," "Murphy Brown" and "Chicago Hope." Schiff began his career as a theater director for both off and off-off Broadway productions in New York. When he made the move to Hollywood, he kept his ties to the theatre, joining Tim Robbins' award-winning "Actors Gang" and starring as 'Goose' in the West Coast premiere of David Rabe's "Goose and Tom Tom," for which he received a Dramalogue Award for Best Actor. He also garnered an Ovation Award nomination for his role in "Urban Folktales."

Laura Dern (Randy)
Laura Dern portrays Randy, a caring suburban mom who decides to battle Sean Penn for custody of his daughter. Dern previously garnered an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Rambling Rose and received a Golden Globe award for her starring role in Afterburn.

This past summer, the versatile Dern was seen in Jurassic Park III while last fall she starred in the critically-praised Robert Altman film Dr. T and the Women opposite Richard Gere. Most recently she co-starred with Steve Martin in Novocaine and with William H. Macy in Focus, based on Arthur Miller's novel.

Dern has been the recipient of numerous film awards including Best Actress at the 1996 Montreal Film Festival for her performance in Alexander Payne's dark comedy Citizen Ruth. Last year, the Sundance Institute honored Dern with the prestigious Piper Heidseick Award for Independent Vision at the Sundance Film Festival.

Dern made her screen debut at the age of seven in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. At the age of 11, she co-starred in Foxes with Jodie Foster. Dern won the Los Angeles Film Critics New Generation Award for her performance in the coming-of-age story Smooth Talk. She went on to star in Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Her other film credits include October Sky, Jurassic Park, A Perfect World, Mask, Fat Man and Little Boy, Haunted Summer, Teachers and Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains.

Dern made her directorial debut with the short film The Gift, which aired as part of Showtime's "Directed By" series. She also starred in Showtime's original film "Down Came A Blackbird."

Dern's television accomplishments have been acknowledged with a Golden Globe nomination for her role in "The Baby Dance" for Showtime and an Emmy Award nomination for her guest-starring role in the controversial "Puppy Episode" of the comedy series "Ellen." She also starred in Showtime's critically-acclaimed film noir series "Fallen Angel," for which she received an Emmy nomination.

Loretta Devine (Margaret)
Loretta Devine, who plays the social worker Margaret, has compiled an impressive list of film credits including such films as Maya Angelou's Down in the Delta, Bill Dukes Hoodlum, Stanley & Iris with Robert De Niro and Little Nikita opposite Sidney Poitier. Devine has received two NAACP awards for her supporting roles in Forrest Whitaker's Waiting to Exhale and Penny Marshall's The Preachers Wife with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. Her recent credits include Urban Legends: Final Cut, What Women Want, Book of Love and Kingdom Come. She currently plays teacher Marla Hendricks on "Boston Public" for Fox Television and is the voice of Muriel in Eddie Murphy's animated cartoon "The PJ's."

Devine has starred in numerous television movies and miniseries including "Rebound," "Clover," "Don King: Only In America" and "Jackie's Back." She also starred as Rudy Dandridge in the critically-acclaimed HBO movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge." On the New York stage, she has originated the roles of 'Lorell' in the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls" and 'Lillian' in Bob Fosse's "Big Deal."

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