Profile of Martin Sheen on Famous Like Me

Martin Sheen (born August 3, 1940) is an American actor. Sheen was born Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez in Dayton, Ohio. He lived on Brown Street in the South Park neighborhood, and was one of 10 siblings (9 boys and one girl). He attended Chaminade High School. A devout Roman Catholic, born to a Spanish-born father, Francisco Estevez, and an Irish mother, Mary Anne Phelan, Sheen adopted his stage name in honor of Catholic archbishop and theologian Fulton J. Sheen. Phelan, from County Galway, fled Ireland during the Anglo-Irish War due to her family's IRA connections, according to a biography of Sheen.

Sheen had wanted to act since he was very young, but his father disapproved. He deliberately flunked the entrance exam for the University of Dayton so that he could pursue his goal. (He has, however, credited the Marianists at that university as a major influence on his public activism.) Sheen borrowed money from a priest and headed to New York City while enduring the struggling actor route. He had developed a theater company with other fellow actors in hopes that a production will get him noticed. His first major role was on Broadway, in The Subject Was Roses, which he recreated in the 1968 film of the same name. He did not receive another important part until 1973, when he starred with Sissy Spacek in the crime drama Badlands.

In 1974, Sheen received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor in a television drama for his portrayal of Pvt. Eddie Slovik in the made-for-television film, The Execution of Private Slovik. The film told the World War II story of the last American soldier to be executed for desertion. It was his performance in this film that ultimately led to Francis Ford Coppola choosing him for a starring role in 1979's Apocalypse Now which gained him wide recognition. On the set of Apocalypse Now, Sheen admitted that he wasn't in the greatest shape and was drinking heavily. On location Sheen had a heart attack and crawled out to a road for help.

Currently, he is best known for playing Democratic President Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing.

Sheen married art student Janet Templeton in 1961, and they have four children, 3 boys and a girl, all of whom are actors:

• Charlie Sheen
• Emilio Estevez
• Ramón Estevez Jr.
• Renée Estevez

Sheen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1500 Vine Street.

Sheen recently expressed a wish to return to education. "My plan is to read English literature, philosophy and theology in Galway, Ireland, where my late mother came from and where I'm also a citizen", he said. A spokeswoman for National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway, said: "Obviously we would be quite happy to accommodate him. This is the first I have heard of it."

He has said that he was greatly influenced by the actor James Dean.

Actor Joe Estevez is a younger brother of Martin Sheen.

Filmography

• The Incident (1967)
• The Subject Was Roses (1968)
• Catch-22 (1970)
• No Drums, No Bugles (1972)
• Pickup on 101 (1972)
• Rage (1972)
• When the Line Goes Through (1973)
• Harry O: Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On (1973)
• Badlands (1973)
• The Legend of Earl Durand (1974)
• The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
• The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
• Apocalypse Now (1979)
• Eagle's Wing (1979)
• The Final Countdown (1980)
• Loophole (1981)
• No Place to Hide (1982)
• In the King of Prussia (1982)
• Gandhi (1982)
• That Championship Season (1982)
• Enigma (1983)
• The Dead Zone (1983)
• Man, Woman and Child (1983)
• Firestarter (1984)
• A State of Emergency (1986)
• The Believers (1987)
• Siesta (1987)
• Wall Street (1987)
• Da (1988)
• Judgment in Berlin (1988)
• Cold Front (1989)
• Beverly Hills Brats (1989)
• Beyond the Stars (1989)
• Cadence (1990)
• Touch and Die (1991)
• The Maid (1991)
• Running Wild (1992)
• When the Bough Breaks (1993)
• The Killing Box (1993)
• Fortunes of War (1993)
• Hear No Evil (1993)
• Gettysburg (1993)
• Trigger Fast (1994)
• Hits! (1994)
• Boca (1994)
• Sacred Cargo (1995)
• Dillinger and Capone (1995)
• Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys (1995)
• The Break (1995)
• Gospa (1995)
• The American President (1995)
• The Elevator (1996)
• The War at Home (1996)
• Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story (1996)
• Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997)
• Spawn (1997)
• Stranger in the Kingdom (1998)
• Gunfighter (1998)
• Family Attraction (1998)
• Snitch (1998)
• A Letter From Death Row (1998)
• Free Money (1998)
• No Code of Conduct (1998)
• Ninth Street (1999)
• Lost & Found (1999)
• Storm (1999)
• A Texas Funeral (1999)
• O (2001)
• We The People (2002)
• Catch Me If You Can (2002)
• The Commission (2003)
• The Departed (2006)
• The West Wing (1999-Present)

Political Activism

Martin Sheen is no stranger to politics, both professionally and in real life. He has played U.S. President John F. Kennedy (in the miniseries Kennedy - The Presidential Years) and fictional Democratic president Josiah Bartlet in the acclaimed television drama The West Wing. Sheen is known for his robust support of "liberal" political causes, and has been arrested 63 times for protesting against issues such as United States military actions. Sheen has resisted calls to stand for office, saying "There's no way that I could be the president. You can't have a pacifist in the White House ... I'm an actor. This is what I do for a living."

He is is a member of Consistent Life, a pro-life group promoting the Consistent Life Ethic which speaks out against abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia and war. He has also supported causes for PETA.

In 2004, Sheen campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean along with fellow actor Rob Reiner. He later campaigned for John Kerry.

On August 28, 2005, he visited Cindy Sheehan at Camp Casey. He prayed with her and spoke to her supporters. There was a certain irony in his visit because Cindy Sheehan had demanded to speak with Republican President George W. Bush, and Sheen plays Democratic President Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing.

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