Sean Penn has long been an outspoken opponent of the anti-vaccination movement, and soon he’ll have the opportunity to again make his case, this time on the popular Fox comedy “Family Guy.”
Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Penn will play himself on an upcoming episode. The story will revolve around Peter and Lois choosing not to vaccinate Stewie, which irks Brian. Of course, an outbreak hits Quahog and Penn swoops in to convince the Griffins that vaccinations are good.
“Brian is, as you would expect, incredulous that Peter and Lois would fall for, as Peter says, Dr. Jenny McCarthy,” executive producer Richard Appel said. “But Brian alone is unable to persuade them. And then, when things go from bad to worse and Stewie is in true jeopardy, Sean Penn saves Stewie, and in doing so, delivers the moral of the episode. He literally parachutes to the rescue.”
Penn hasn’t been a TV guest star since 2004, but Appel had heard that he was a fan of the show and decided to offer him the role.
“He’s very funny in the episode and was very game,” Appel said. “So often when we are lucky enough to work with really talented people who also happen to be really successful, they’re the most modest and the most open to direction. He was like that.”
Penn previously released a documentary, “The Human Experiment,” that tackled similar issues.