Sean Penn has revealed that he briefly considered attacking notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the "Night Stalker", after unexpectedly finding himself alone with him in jail. The actor shared the story in a recent interview with VICE News, recalling an unsettling moment from early in his career that has stuck with him ever since.

Penn explained that the encounter took place during a 34-day stint in Los Angeles County Jail, which he served in his mid-20s at the height of his early Hollywood success. He described the fleeting but chilling thought of confronting Ramirez, whose horrific killing spree terrorised California in the mid-1980s, though further details of exactly how the encounter unfolded were not fully disclosed in the available report.