Actor Chris Penn, the younger brother of Sean Penn, was found dead on Tuesday at his apartment in Santa Monica, California.
Police sources said that no cause of death was immediately determined, adding that there were no signs of foul play.
Penn, who was 40, was a character actor who played Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in 'Reservoir Dogs', as well as appearing in almost 60 other films including 'Short Cuts', 'True Romance' and 'Starsky & Hutch'.
His latest film, comedy adventure 'The Darwin Awards', which also stars Joseph Fiennes and Winona Ryder, was supposed to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival today.
Penn is survived by his mother, actress Eileen Ryan, ('I Am Sam', 'The Pledge' and 'Magnolia'), and his brothers, musician Michael Penn and Sean Penn.
Sean Penn's publicist issued a statement saying that the Penn family "would appreciate the media's respect of their privacy during this difficult time".
