Best Known As: Fast-living star of the TV comedy Two and a Half Men
Name at birth: Carlos Irwin Estevez
Charlie Sheen is the son of actor Martin Sheen, and a movie star in his own right thanks to big-budget, high-profile movies of the late 1980s. From notable young man roles in Red Dawn (1984, starring Patrick Swayze) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, starring Matthew Broderick), Sheen emerged as a leading man in the Oliver Stone films Platoon (1986, starring Willem Dafoe) and Wall Street (1987, starring Michael Douglas). Since stardom his appearances in the tabloids have rivalled his appearances on the big screen; as played out in the gossip columns, Sheen's life has been a wild ride that includes cocaine, high-priced prostitutes, an accidental shooting (in 1990 -- his then-girlfriend, Kelly Preston, was wounded) and a long, bitter divorce battle with actress Denise Richards. All the while, Sheen has kept working in hits and misses that include dramas such as Eight Men Out (1988, with David Strathairn) and The Arrival (1996), and lowbrow comedies such as Hot Shots (1991) and Scary Movie 3 (2003). After a string of so-so performances and a much-publicized drug problem, Sheen had a comeback of sorts by 2000, poking fun at himself in the film Being John Malkovich (1999, starring John Cusack) and replacing Michael J. Fox in the TV series Spin City. Sheen landed his own comedy series in 2003, the sitcom Two and a Half Men, a hit that brought him Emmy nominations in 2006 and 2007.
Sheen's siblings, Emilio, Ramon and Renée Estevez, are also actors... Sheen, unlike his siblings, takes his surname from his father's stage name (Martin Sheen was born Ramon Estevez)... Sheen married Denise Richards in 2002 and they have two daughters; Richards filed for divorce in 2005... In 1997 Sheen narrated Mission to Mars, a documentary about the possibility of life on Mars (he also earned a writing credit).
First Major Screen Credit: Silence of the Heart (1984)
Biography
A leading man who has displayed a knack for action, comedy, and dramatic roles, Charlie Sheen is nearly as well known for his offscreen exploits as for his acting, though after suffering through scandals that would have ended many performers' careers, he overcame bad press and bad habits to enjoy a major comeback on television in the late '90s. Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estevez to actor Martin Sheen (born Ramon Estevez) and his wife, Janet Templeton, in 1965. By all accounts, young Charlie wasn't an especially distinguished student; though he was a star on Santa Monica High School's baseball team, he was expelled due to poor attendance and bad grades only a few weeks before his class graduated. During his school days, Sheen developed an interest in filmmaking, making amateur Super-8 films starring his school friends (who included Rob Lowe and Sean Penn), and after leaving school, Sheen decided to take a stab at an acting career, like his father (and his older brother, Emilio Estevez). While Sheen played a bit part in one of his father's films, The Execution of Private Slovik, when he was nine, he began his screen career in earnest in 1984, playing Matt Eckhart in the Cold War thriller Red Dawn. (Earlier that same year, Sheen played a small role in a sequel to the horror film Grizzly which didn't see release until 1987; Grizzly 2: The Predator also featured a then-unknown George Clooney.) After good-sized roles in several made-for-TV movies and smaller roles in better-known feature films (including Lucas and Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Sheen got his big break in 1986 when he was cast as Chris, a soldier with conscience in Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning Vietnam drama Platoon. In 1987, Sheen starred in Stone's next project, Wall Street, and after establishing himself as a solid dramatic actor, Sheen proved he also had a flair for comedy in the 1989 hit Major League. The role also gave Sheen a chance to show off his pitching arm; a year earlier, Sheen got to play real-life center fielder Hap Felsch in John Sayles' drama about the 1919 "Chicago Black Sox" scandal, Eight Men Out. Sheen's next major success was also a comedy, the 1991 military-film satire Hot Shots, and while box-office blockbusters tended to elude him, Sheen worked steadily over the next several years, and racked up a respectable number of box-office successes.
By this time, Sheen had developed a reputation as a hard-living star who spoke his mind regardless of the consequences, but his fun-loving image began to take on a darker hue in the mid-'90s. In 1990, Sheen was engaged to marry actress Kelly Preston, but she left him shortly after an incident in which he accidentally shot her in the arm. In 1995, Sheen tied the knot with model Donna Peele, but the marriage ended in divorce only 14 months later. The same year he was wed, Sheen was called to testify in the trial of "Hollywood Madame" Heidi Fleiss, and admitted he was a frequent customer of Fleiss' call girl service, spending over 50,000 dollars on the services of prostitutes. In the wake of the Heidi Fleiss scandal, Sheen did himself no favors in terms of public relations by openly dating a pair of adult film actresses, Ginger Lynn Allen and Brittany Ashland; his relationship with Ashland came to an end when she filed assault charges against him. Sheen's bad-boy image turned especially grim in 1998, when he was hospitalized for drug and alcohol abuse; after a short-lived stay in rehab, Sheen gave sobriety another try, and by 1999 he was, by all accounts, clean and sober and ready to get his career back on track. In 1999, Sheen's brother, Emilio Estevez, cast him as real-life adult filmmaker Artie Mitchell in the made-for-cable feature Rated X -- a daring role, given Mitchell's drug abuse and sexual promiscuity -- and the following year, Sheen became Hollywood's comeback kid when he was cast in the leading role of the popular situation comedy Spin City after the departure of actor Michael J. Fox. In 2002, a clean, sober, and successful Sheen made headlines once again with his love life, though this time in a positive manner: He announced his engagement to actress Denise Richards.
In addition to his career as an actor, Sheen has also dabbled in production; he produced two of his films, Comicitis and The Chase, before forming a production company with rock singer Bret Michaels. Sheen also wrote the screenplay for the company's first release, No Code of Conduct. In addition, Sheen has published a book of his poetry, A Peace of My Mind. ~ All Movie Guide
Happy 40th birthday to Charlie Sheen! Born Carlos Estevez, the actor is known to TV viewers for his roles on Spin City and Two and a Half Men. His first major role was in the war drama, Platoon (1986). That was closely followed by his critically acclaimed turn in Wall Street (1987) in which he starred alongside his father, Martin Sheen. Charlie's three siblings, Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez Jr., and Renee Estevez, are all actors, as well.
Sheen started acting in 1974 at the age of nine, appearing in a small role alongside his father in the television movie The Execution of Private Slovik. Sheen's film career began in 1984 with a role in the Cold War teen drama Red Dawn with Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey. Sheen and Grey reunited in a small scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). He also appeared in an episode of the anthology seriesAmazing Stories. In 1986 Sheen had his first major role, in the Vietnam War drama Platoon (1986). In 1987, he starred with his father in Wall Street. Both Wall Street and Platoon were directed by Oliver Stone; however, in 1988, Stone approached Sheen about starring in his new film Born on the Fourth of July (1989), only to later re-cast Sheen in favor of Tom Cruise. Sheen was never notified by Stone, and only found out when he heard the news from his brother Emilio. Sheen refused to work with Stone again.[4]
Sheen and his former girlfriend Paula Profit have a daughter, Cassandra Jade Estevez (born December 12, 1984). Sheen and Profit did not marry.[8] In 1990, Sheen accidentally shot his then-fiancee, Kelly Preston, in the arm; a minor wound only needing two stiches. The relationship ended shortly thereafter.[9]
In 1993, his name was found among Hollywood MadamHeidi Fleiss's list of her most frequent customers, and it was revealed that Sheen hired highly compensated call girls from escort agencies.[10] In 1995 he testified at the trial of Heidi Fleiss, where it was revealed he'd spent $50,000 on prostitutes in 14 months.[11] Also, Jason Itzler, owner of the famous escort service NY Confidential, claimed in March 2008 that Sheen paid $20,000 for the services of two prostitutes, one of whom was Ashley Dupre, of Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal fame. Sheen denied the allegations.[12]
In 1995, Sheen married Donna Peele. The marriage lasted a little more than a year, from his 30th birthday on September 3, 1995 to November 19, 1996. In 1996, Sheen announced that he had become a born-again Christian.[13]
In a 1997 Empire magazine interview, Sheen was asked what was the largest number of people Sheen had sex with at any one time. He replied: "...five girls at once. It was a pile-up...and it wasn't so much about going Caligula, it was very organized. Very ordered...all six people in that room came out of it pretty satisfied".[14] Sheen was listed as #2 on Maxim's "Top 10 Living Legends of Sex", citing an alleged 5,000 women that he has slept with.[15]
On May 20, 1998, alone and bored in his Malibu home, Charlie decided to try injecting cocaine for the first time, accidentally giving himself an overdose. He was discharged from the hospital soon afterward, but his father Martin Sheen issued a public appeal for fans to pray for him, and reported him for violation of parole. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Charlie was sent to rehab.[11] In the Empire magazine interview, he stated that he took a bullet for the industry when he was called into court to "name names".[citation needed]
Although Sheen was involved with a number of Hollywood personalities, his long-term relationship with former pornographic actress Ginger Lynn in the late 1990s garnered the most media attention. He was also involved for a time with former pornographic actress Heather Hunter. On June 15, 2002, he married actress Denise Richards after meeting her while filming Good Advice in 2001. They have two daughters, Sam J. Sheen (born March 9, 2004)[16] and Lola Rose Sheen (born June 1, 2005).[17] In March 2005, while she was still carrying their daughter Lola, Richards filed for divorce from Sheen.[18] Sheen and Richards' divorce was official on November 30, 2006.[19]
Further, Richards alleged that Sheen visited prostitutes and was addicted to gambling, prescription drugs (which he bought over the Internet), and pornography. Richards also alleged that Sheen posted a picture of his erect penis on his online profile of a "sex-search type" website and that he frequently viewed pornography featuring "very young girls," and websites "involving gay pornography also involving very young men who also did not look like adults."[20] Based on these allegations, Richards sought and received a restraining order against Sheen.[21]
Sheen denied the allegations. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, he described Richards' actions as a "smear campaign" and insisted that he was a responsible father who would "give his life for his children." He added that Richards is "the only one entirely culpable for putting these radical allegations out for public consumption... my children included."[22]
Sheen and Richards were engaged in an acrimonious custody dispute over their two daughters,[23] but have since made peace with each other, with Sheen stating in April 2009 that “we had to do what’s best for the girls.”.[24]
A year and a half after Sheen and Richards' divorce, on May 30, 2008, Sheen married Brooke Mueller (also known as Brooke Allen), a real estate investor.[25] This was the third trip down the aisle for Sheen and the first for Mueller.[26] The couple's twins, Bob and Max were born on March 14, 2009.[27]
Sheen was the 2004 spokesperson for the Lee National Denim Day breast cancer fundraiser that raised millions of dollars for research and education regarding the disease. Sheen stated that a friend of his died from breast cancer and he wanted to try to help find a cure for the disease. Sheen also launched clothing line for kids, called Sheen Kidz in 2006.[28]
September 11, 2001 attack theories
On March 20, 2006, Sheen revealed during an Alex Jones interview that he questions the official story concerning the September 11, 2001 attacks.[29] Sheen stated during the interview, "...it just didn't look like any commercial jetliner I've flown on any time in my life and then when the buildings came down later on that day I said to my brother, 'Call me insane, but did it sorta look like those buildings came down in a controlled demolition?'"[30]
During a March 24, 2006 appearance on CNN's Showbiz Tonight, co-host A.J. Hammer comments on "Charlie Sheen`s startling allegations of a 9/11 government cover-up" on the Alex Jones radio show on March 20.
Sheen stated "The more you look at stuff, especially specific incidents, specific events in and around the fateful day, it just -- it just raises a lot of questions." ... "I have to tip my hat to CNN, to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, to A.J. Hammer for having the courage, for having the guts, for having the wherewithal to give someone like myself, someone like you the actual time and the focus to examine these issues. And this is the most attention in mainstream coverage that this topic has ever received." "... I saw the south tower hit live, that famous wide shot where it disappears behind the building and then we see the tremendous fireball. And there was just—there was a feeling that it just didn`t look, how do I say this, it didn`t look like any commercial jetliner I`ve flown on any time in my life. And then when the buildings came down, later on that day, I was with my brother and I said, "Hey, call me insane, but did it sort of look like those buildings came down in a -- in a controlled demolition?" We`re not the conspiracy theorists on this particular issue, you know. It seems to me like, you know, 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 percent of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory."[31]
In response to his critics now "attacking his wild and controversial past" because of his opinions, Sheen stated "And a majority of them, in fact 90 percent of them, were attacking me personally, were attacking my credibility. I am an American citizen that loves my country. And as a citizen with that -- with my passion for this great country, I demand that I be challenged on the facts, not on, you know, immature behavior from 20 years ago. That if they continue to attack me personally, it only gives credence to our side of the argument." ... "People want the truth. They want the truth. And what`s been offered to us resembles nothing of the sort."[31] On October 27, 2007, his views on 9/11 were echoed by his father Martin Sheen.[32]
Usually in a battle sequence when a bomb is going off, you forget you're acting.
