Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
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With the critical acclaim he has received as an actor, Sheen has become known as an activist. Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, United States, with Irish and Galician parents, Sheen is also an Irish citizen.
He is the father of actors Emilio Estévez, Ramón Estévez, Carlos Irwin Estévez (Charlie Sheen), and Renée Estévez, and is the brother of Joe Estévez, also an actor.
Sheen was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Mary Ann (née Phelan) and Francisco Estévez, who was a factory worker/machinery inspector at the National Cash Register Company at the time. Both parents were immigrants, his mother was born in Borrisokane, County Tipperary, Ireland and his father in Parderrubias, Galicia, Spain. After moving to Dayton, Estévez worked for several decades for the National Cash Register Company. Sheen grew up on Brown Street in the South Park neighborhood, one of 10 siblings (nine boys and one girl). He attended Chaminade High School (now Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School) and was raised as a Roman Catholic. Sheen eventually adopted his stage name in honor of the Catholic archbishop and theologian, Fulton J. Sheen.
During the 1930s, his family lived in Bermuda, where Sheen's father was a sales representative of IBM. The family lived on St. John's Road, Pembroke, just outside Hamilton and his siblings attended the Mount Saint Agnes school, an institution operated by the Sisters Of Charity, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Sheen was the first of the ten Estevez children who was not born in either Bermuda or Ireland.
Sheen was drawn to acting at a young age, but his father disapproved of his interest in the field. Despite his father's opposition, Sheen borrowed money from a Catholic priest and headed to New York City. It was there that he met the legendary Catholic activist Dorothy Day. It was working with her Catholic Worker movement that began his commitment to social justice. At age 14, he organized a strike of golf caddies while working at a private golf club in Dayton, Ohio. He complained about the golfers: "they often used obscene language in front of us....we were little boys and they were abusive... anti-Semitic ... racist. And they, for the most part, were upstanding members of the community." While Sheen claims he deliberately failed the entrance exam for the University of Dayton so that he could pursue his acting career, he still has an affinity for UD, and is seen drinking from a "Dayton Flyers" coffee mug during several episodes of The West Wing. Sheen also developed an ongoing relationship with Wright State University, where he performed Love Letters as a benefit for scholarships in the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures, and hosted a trip of donors to the set of The West Wing with the department's chair, W. Stuart McDowell, in September, 2001. The Sheen/Estevez & Augsburger Scholarship Fund has since attracted over $100,000 in scholarships in the arts for students in need at WSU since its inception in 2000.
Sheen also has a great affinity for the University of Notre Dame and in 2008 was awarded the Laetare Medal, the highest honor bestowed on American Catholics, in May 2008 at the school's commencement. Sheen has said that he was greatly influenced by the actor James Dean. He developed a theater company with other actors in hopes that a production would earn him recognition. In 1963, he made an appearance in Nightmare, an episode of the television science fiction series The Outer Limits. The following year, he starred in the Broadway play The Subject Was Roses, which he recreated in the 1968 film of the same name. In 1969 "Live Bait" (Mission Impossible) 3rd season of the TV series, Sheen played Albert, assistant to the Col. interrogating an America Agent that IM was tasked to free. He then played Dobbs in the film adaptation of Catch 22. Sheen was then a co-star in the controversial, Emmy-winning 1972 television movie That Certain Summer, said to be the first television movie to portray homosexuality in a sympathetic, non-judgmental light. His next important feature film role was in 1973, when he starred with Sissy Spacek in the crime drama Badlands—which he has said in many interviews is his best film.
In 1974, Sheen portrayed a hot rod driver in the TV movie The California Kid, and that same year 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. Based on an incident that occurred during World War II, the film told the story of the only U.S. soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War. It was Sheen's performance in this film that ultimately led to Francis Ford Coppola choosing him for a starring role in 1979's Apocalypse Now, a film that gained him wide recognition. Sheen admitted that during filming, he was not in the greatest shape and was drinking heavily. On location, he had a heart attack and crawled out to a road for help. After his heart attack, his younger brother Joe Estevez stood in for him in a number of long shots and in some of the voice-overs.
Sheen has performed voice-over work as the narrator for the Eyewitness series. In addition, he played the role of the Illusive Man in the highly-acclaimed RPG Mass Effect 2.
Sheen recently went to Mexico City to star in "Chamaco" with Kirk Harris, Alex Perea, Gustavo Sanchez Parra and Michael Madsen.
After the end of filming of The West Wing, Sheen announced plans to further his 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". Speaking after an honorary arts doctorate was conferred on him by the National University of Ireland, Sheen joked that he would be the "oldest undergraduate" at the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway when he started his full-time studies there in the autumn of 2006. Although expressing concern that he might be a "distraction" to other students at NUIG, he attended lectures like everyone else. Speaking the week after filming his last episode of The West Wing, he said, "I'm very serious about it." He once said, "I never went to college when I was young and am looking forward to giving it a try... at age 65!" On September 1, 2006, Sheen was among the first to register as a student at NUI Galway. He left the University after completing a semester.
He is the father of actors Emilio Estévez, Ramón Estévez, Carlos Irwin Estévez (Charlie Sheen), and Renée Estévez, and is the brother of Joe Estévez, also an actor.
Sheen was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Mary Ann (née Phelan) and Francisco Estévez, who was a factory worker/machinery inspector at the National Cash Register Company at the time. Both parents were immigrants, his mother was born in Borrisokane, County Tipperary, Ireland and his father in Parderrubias, Galicia, Spain. After moving to Dayton, Estévez worked for several decades for the National Cash Register Company. Sheen grew up on Brown Street in the South Park neighborhood, one of 10 siblings (nine boys and one girl). He attended Chaminade High School (now Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School) and was raised as a Roman Catholic. Sheen eventually adopted his stage name in honor of the Catholic archbishop and theologian, Fulton J. Sheen.
During the 1930s, his family lived in Bermuda, where Sheen's father was a sales representative of IBM. The family lived on St. John's Road, Pembroke, just outside Hamilton and his siblings attended the Mount Saint Agnes school, an institution operated by the Sisters Of Charity, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Sheen was the first of the ten Estevez children who was not born in either Bermuda or Ireland.
Sheen was drawn to acting at a young age, but his father disapproved of his interest in the field. Despite his father's opposition, Sheen borrowed money from a Catholic priest and headed to New York City. It was there that he met the legendary Catholic activist Dorothy Day. It was working with her Catholic Worker movement that began his commitment to social justice. At age 14, he organized a strike of golf caddies while working at a private golf club in Dayton, Ohio. He complained about the golfers: "they often used obscene language in front of us....we were little boys and they were abusive... anti-Semitic ... racist. And they, for the most part, were upstanding members of the community." While Sheen claims he deliberately failed the entrance exam for the University of Dayton so that he could pursue his acting career, he still has an affinity for UD, and is seen drinking from a "Dayton Flyers" coffee mug during several episodes of The West Wing. Sheen also developed an ongoing relationship with Wright State University, where he performed Love Letters as a benefit for scholarships in the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures, and hosted a trip of donors to the set of The West Wing with the department's chair, W. Stuart McDowell, in September, 2001. The Sheen/Estevez & Augsburger Scholarship Fund has since attracted over $100,000 in scholarships in the arts for students in need at WSU since its inception in 2000.
Sheen also has a great affinity for the University of Notre Dame and in 2008 was awarded the Laetare Medal, the highest honor bestowed on American Catholics, in May 2008 at the school's commencement. Sheen has said that he was greatly influenced by the actor James Dean. He developed a theater company with other actors in hopes that a production would earn him recognition. In 1963, he made an appearance in Nightmare, an episode of the television science fiction series The Outer Limits. The following year, he starred in the Broadway play The Subject Was Roses, which he recreated in the 1968 film of the same name. In 1969 "Live Bait" (Mission Impossible) 3rd season of the TV series, Sheen played Albert, assistant to the Col. interrogating an America Agent that IM was tasked to free. He then played Dobbs in the film adaptation of Catch 22. Sheen was then a co-star in the controversial, Emmy-winning 1972 television movie That Certain Summer, said to be the first television movie to portray homosexuality in a sympathetic, non-judgmental light. His next important feature film role was in 1973, when he starred with Sissy Spacek in the crime drama Badlands—which he has said in many interviews is his best film.
In 1974, Sheen portrayed a hot rod driver in the TV movie The California Kid, and that same year 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. Based on an incident that occurred during World War II, the film told the story of the only U.S. soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War. It was Sheen's performance in this film that ultimately led to Francis Ford Coppola choosing him for a starring role in 1979's Apocalypse Now, a film that gained him wide recognition. Sheen admitted that during filming, he was not in the greatest shape and was drinking heavily. On location, he had a heart attack and crawled out to a road for help. After his heart attack, his younger brother Joe Estevez stood in for him in a number of long shots and in some of the voice-overs.
Sheen has performed voice-over work as the narrator for the Eyewitness series. In addition, he played the role of the Illusive Man in the highly-acclaimed RPG Mass Effect 2.
Sheen recently went to Mexico City to star in "Chamaco" with Kirk Harris, Alex Perea, Gustavo Sanchez Parra and Michael Madsen.
After the end of filming of The West Wing, Sheen announced plans to further his 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". Speaking after an honorary arts doctorate was conferred on him by the National University of Ireland, Sheen joked that he would be the "oldest undergraduate" at the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway when he started his full-time studies there in the autumn of 2006. Although expressing concern that he might be a "distraction" to other students at NUIG, he attended lectures like everyone else. Speaking the week after filming his last episode of The West Wing, he said, "I'm very serious about it." He once said, "I never went to college when I was young and am looking forward to giving it a try... at age 65!" On September 1, 2006, Sheen was among the first to register as a student at NUI Galway. He left the University after completing a semester.
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