Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking is a 1995 American crime drama film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and co-produced and directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the non-fiction book of the same name. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet (Penn) – based on real-life murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie – a prisoner on death row in Louisiana, acting as his spiritual adviser after carrying on correspondence with him. Matthew Poncelet has been in prison for six years, awaiting his execution after being sentenced to death for
Empire Award for Best Actress Empire Award for Best Actress The Empire Award for Best Actress is an Empire Award presented annually by the British film magazine "Empire" to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the film industry. The Empire Award for Best Actress is one of five ongoing awards which were first introduced at the 1st Empire Awards ceremony in 1996 (the others being Best Actor, Best Director, Best Film and Best British Film) with Nicole Kidman receiving the award for her role in "To Die For". Winners are voted by the readers of