They join Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Morgan Freeman in being banned from the country.
More Hollywood stars have been added to the ever-growing list of banned citizens from Russia, with Ben Stiller and Sean Penn being the latest to have their access denied.
The pair appeared on a new list published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on Monday (5 September).
25 people appeared on the list, consisting of US Senators, high-ranking officials, and “cultural figures”.
The Ministry said that the bans were “in response to the constantly expanding Administration of [US President Joe] Biden’s personal sanctions against Russian citizens.”
While no rationale has been provided for the banning, it’s likely that both Stiller and Penn have been banned due to their support for Ukraine during the ongoing conflict.
Ben Stiller met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in June, describing his time with the leader as an honour and calling him “my hero”.
“What you’ve done and the way that you’ve done rallied the country and for the world, it’s really inspiring,” the Zoolander star said.
Sean Penn visited the country in February to film a documentary on the conflict, before returning to voice his support for Ukraine.
“To be in Ukraine, and to feel, despite many political differences, even some ugly positions on things, but not on this,” the Mystic River star told MSNBC.
“Not on being able to determine their own dreams. They can look at each other and say ‘we’re in this together’.
“It’s a horrible moment in so many ways, but it’s an exciting moment in history to follow the Ukrainians, because they are proof of theory.
“They’re gonna win this thing because they’re together, and what they’re gonna win is going to be otherwise impossible to win, and it’s a certainty.”
The stars join US President Joe Biden, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, and fellow star Morgan Freeman on the list of banned individuals from Russia.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
