Two-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn had been telling himself he was going to write a novel for years. Once he shed concern about perception, "the music played," Penn shared on "Salon Talks," and he finished his first book, "Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff: A Novel," available now. "I found that the process of writing was really the one I was happiest in," the actor, writer, producer and director told Salon. "I needed a format where I could laugh about my own humor, and that was alone writing."

Penn opens up about his writing process, which never involves sitting at a computer, and what inspired the character Bob Honey, a septic tank salesman who isn't unlike a Trump supporter. Watch the interview above to hear Penn's theory on why the export of democracy might be producing more fascism at home and his thoughts on the Parkland school shooting and gun control today.