Actor Sean Penn, 60, is representing his new directorial film titled ‘Flag Day’ at the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The film features his daughter Dylan Penn along with Josh Brolin and Miles Teller in pivotal roles.

However, the multiple Oscar Award winner has an interesting backstory of his first visit to Cannes and this was the time when he ended up hanging out with Robert De Niro, then 40, at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

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Penn, a young actor at the time whose best-known work was as the surfer Jeff Spicoli in the teen comedy ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’, was putting a few backs at On the Rox. Penn spotted Harry Dean Stanton, 57, sitting at the bar and struck up a conversation.

“He regarded me highly,” Stanton later said. “And I was intrigued by him.” Stanton mentioned he was heading to Cannes the next day to attend the festival, where — unbeknownst to him — his film Paris, Texas would go on to win the Palme d’Or, reports Hollywood Reporter.com.

Penn asked if he could join him, to which Stanton replied, “Uh…OK.” So the two flew together to France. “All he brought with him was a passport and a toothbrush,” Stanton later recalled. The duo shared a hotel room for five days, at which point Stanton wanted some privacy and suggested Penn find new lodging.

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So Penn ingratiate himself with De Niro and Joe Pesci, who were there supporting Sergio Leone’s ‘Once Upon a Time in America’. De Niro paid for a room at the Hotel du Cap for Penn.

Now 60, Penn appears at Cannes again.