Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), better known as
Charlie Sheen, is an
American actor. His character roles in films have included Chris Taylor in the 1986
Vietnam War Drama
Platoon and Bud Fox in 1987 film
Wall Street. His career also made room for more comedic roles, including
Major League, the
Hot Shots! films and
Scary Movie 3 and
4. On television Sheen is known for his roles on two
sitcoms: as Charlie Crawford on
Spin City, and as
Charlie Harper on
Two and a Half Men.
Early life
Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estévez in New York City, the youngest son and third of four children born to actor
Martin Sheen and artist Janet Templeton. Martin adopted his stage name in honor of the
Catholic archbishop and
theologian,
Fulton J. Sheen, with Charlie also taking this stage name.
[Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio, 2007] His parents moved to
Malibu, California after Martin Sheen's Broadway turn in
The Subject Was Roses. Sheen has two brothers and one sister, all of whom are actors:
Emilio Estevez,
Ramon Estevez and
Renée Estevez. Sheen attended
Santa Monica High School in
Santa Monica, California, where he was a star
pitcher and
shortstop for the
baseball team.
He also showed an early interest in acting, making several
Super-8 films with schoolmates
Rob Lowe,
Chad Lowe and early friend
Chris Penn. Just a few weeks before graduation, Sheen was expelled from the school for poor grades and bad attendance.
Career
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 series Amazing 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 Tom Cruise in favor of Sheen. 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.
