Sean Penn has not lived a saintly life. Just do an Internet search of his name and you can read about everything from his volatile marriage to Madonna to his legal problems. All I can say, from my point of view, the actor has been cordial and very professional.

I was in San Francisco Wednesday to talk with Penn, along with other cast and crew of the new feature film "Milk." The movie, the story of gay activist Harvey Milk, opens in selected cities in late November. Look for it here in December.

It has been 20 years since I first talked with Penn. I met with him in Los Angles to discuss his film "Colors." The interview came just as Penn's marriage to Madonna was going bad.

Before the interview, a publicist warned me that if I mention Madonna, Penn will walk out of the interview. That created a real dilemma.

There was no way to get around the subject. It was hot news in regards to Penn. The question had to be asked. My plan was to wait until the last question. If he got mad at that point, I would at least have the rest of the interview.

The interview was going along without incident. He answered every question. At about the mid-point, I asked him what I thought was a rather mundane question: Have you worked with anyone in the past that you would like to work with again? I mean in regards to directors.

Penn smiled. Then he said, "I haven't thought about that. But I can tell you one thing. I would never work with Madonna again. That wouldn't be too smart" The look on his face said the rest. Penn and Madonna had starred together in the 1986 movie "Shanghai Surprise." The film is easily the worst of Penn's career.

So Penn did not get mad. He did not walk out.

It can be argued all celebrities are going to be on their best behavior when promoting a film. But Penn has shown me a real classy side when not trying to hype his latest work. A few years after the first interview, I had the chance to talk with Penn again. And this was even a more impressive encounter.

I got a tip Penn was in Bakersfield to look at some property. I placed a call to the hotel where he was staying. Many celebrities check into hotels under false names. So when I asked to speak to Penn, I figured the response would be "There is no one registered here under that name." But that was not the case. The call was sent to his room. No answer. I left a message for him to call me about a possible interview.

At this point, I was sure he would never call. There was no reason for him to bother with the message. But Penn fooled me. A couple of hours later my home phone rang. It was Penn. He confirmed he was in town to look at property but was not interested in doing an interview.

It didn't matter that he turned down the interview request. The fact he returned the telephone call said so much about him as a person.

During yesterday's interview, Penn was funny, emotional about the project and very supportive of his fellow cast members. So my opinion of Penn has not changed after yesterday's interview.