Sean Leslie Flynn (May 31, 1941 – disappeared April 6, 1970; declared legally dead in 1984)[1] was an American actor and freelance photojournalist best known for his coverage of the Vietnam War.

In search of exceptional images, Flynn traveled with U.S. Army Special Forces units and irregulars operating in remote areas.

While on assignment in Cambodia in April 1970, Flynn and fellow photojournalist Dana Stone were captured by communist guerrillas.

[15] Flynn made a few more films in Europe, including Il segno di Zorro (1963; released in 1964 as Duel at the Rio Grande), Verspätung in Marienborn with José Ferrer (1963; released in 1964 as Stop Train 349), Agent Special a Venise "Voir Venise et...Crever" (1964; sold to U.S. television syndication as Mission to Venice), and Sandok, Il Maciste della Jungla (1964; released in 1966 as Temple of the White Elephant).

In the latter part of 1965, Flynn needed money, so he made two Spaghetti Westerns in Spain and Italy that were released in 1966: Sette Magnifiche Pistole (Seven Guns for Timothy) and Dos Pistolas Gemelas (Sharp-Shooting Twin Sisters) co-starring the Spanish twin performers Pili and Mili.

Flynn arrived in South Vietnam in January 1966 as a freelance photojournalist, first for the French magazine Paris Match, then for Time Life, and finally for United Press International (UPI).

He made a name for himself as one of a group of high-risk photojournalists which included Dana Stone, Tim Page, Henri Huet, John Steinbeck IV, Perry Deane Young, Nik Wheeler, and Chas Gerretsen, who would do anything to get the best pictures, even go into combat.

In April 1966, Flynn was on patrol with some Green Berets and Nung mercenaries when they were ambushed by the Viet Cong.

In September of that year, he was working as a cameraman for CBS News when he was injured slightly by grenade fragments while shooting a battle between U.S. and North Vietnamese forces 85 miles south of Da Nang.

On April 6, 1970, Flynn and a group of journalists left Phnom Penh to attend a government-sponsored press conference in Saigon.

Reporter Steve Bell, who was one of the last Westerners to see the two alive, later said that after the press conference, Flynn and Stone had received word that there was a makeshift checkpoint on Highway 1 manned by members of the Viet Cong.

Surviving film footage captured both this moment as well as the sight of several persons, believed to be Viet Cong, moving around on the far side of the vehicle.

Undaunted by the sight of a nearby platoon of government soldiers taking up defensive positions in a line perpendicular to the road, and eager to interview the Viet Cong, both Flynn and Stone chose to proceed alone to the checkpoint.

[24] Although it is known that Flynn and Stone were captured by Viet Cong guerrillas at a checkpoint on Highway 1, their fate is unknown.

[27] In March 2010, a British team searching for Flynn's body uncovered the remains of a Western hostage in Cambodia's Kampong Cham province, allegedly executed by the Khmer Rouge.