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.
In 1987, Sheen was cast to portray Ron in the unreleased
Grizzly II: The Predator, the sequel to the 1976
low budget horror movie Grizzly. In 1988, he appeared opposite his brother
Emilio Estevez in
Young Guns and again in 1990 in
Men at Work. Also in 1990, he starred alongside his father
Martin Sheen in
Cadence as a rebellious inmate in a military stockade and
Clint Eastwood in the
buddy cop action film The Rookie.
In 1992 he starred in "Beyond the Law" with Linda Fiorentino and Michael Madsen. In 1997 Sheen wrote his first movie
Discovery Mars, a
direct-to-video documentary revolving around the question, "Is There Life on Mars?". The next year Sheen wrote, produced and starred in the action movie
No Code of Conduct.
Sheen appeared in several comedy roles, including the
Major League films,
Money Talks and the
spoof Hot Shots! films. In 1999 Sheen appeared in a
pilot for
A&E Network, called
Sugar Hill, which wasn't picked up. In 1999, Sheen played himself in
Being John Malkovich. He also appeared in the spoof series
Scary Movie 3 and follow up
Scary Movie 4. In 2000, he was cast to replace
Michael J. Fox on the sitcom
Spin City;
the series ended in 2002. In 2003, Sheen was cast as Charlie Harper in the CBS sitcom
Two and a Half Men, which followed the popular Monday night time slot of
Everybody Loves Raymond. Sheen's role on
Two and a Half Men was loosely based on Sheen's bad boy image.
Sheen appears as Dex Dogtective in the unreleased
Lionsgate animated comedy Foodfight.
Political views and activities
Charitable activities
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 a clothing line for kids, called Sheen Kidz, in 2006.
September 11 attacks
On March 20, 2006, Sheen stated that he questions the US government's account of the
September 11 attacks.
Sheen said during the interview that the collapse of the World Trade Center towers looked like a
controlled demolition.
He urged critics not to attack him personally, but to challenge him on the facts.
Charlie Sheen has since become a prominent advocate of the
9/11 Truth movement.
On September 8, 2009, Sheen appealed to US President
Barack Obama to set up a new investigation into the attacks. Presenting his views as a transcript of a fictional encounter with Obama, he was characterized by the press as believing the
9/11 commission was a whitewash and that the administration of former US President
George W. Bush may have been responsible for the attacks.
Personal life
Sheen and his girlfriend Paula Profit had a daughter, Cassandra Jade Estevez (born December 12, 1984).
In 1990, Sheen accidentally shot his then-fiancee,
Kelly Preston,
in the arm; a minor wound needing two stitches. The relationship ended shortly thereafter.
In 1995, Sheen married Donna Peele. The marriage lasted a little more than a year, from September 3, 1995 to November 19, 1996. In 1996, Sheen announced that he had become a
born-again Christian. Sheen's long-term relationship with former pornographic actress
Ginger Lynn in the late 1990s garnered much media attention.
He was also involved for a time with former pornographic actress
Heather Hunter.
On May 20, 1998, Sheen tried injecting
cocaine, accidentally giving himself an
overdose. He was hospitalized, but discharged from the hospital soon afterward. 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.
In an
Empire magazine interview, he stated that he took a bullet for the industry when he was called into court to "name names".
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-Estevez (born March 9, 2004)
and Lola Rose Sheen-Estevez (born June 1, 2005).
In March 2005, while she was still carrying their daughter Lola, Richards filed for divorce from Sheen.
Sheen and Richards' divorce was official on November 30, 2006.
Sheen and Richards were engaged in an acrimonious custody dispute over their two daughters,
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".
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.
This was the third marriage for Sheen and the first for Mueller.
The couple's twins, Bob and Max were born on March 14, 2009.
Awards and honors
In 1989 Sheen, along with
John Fusco,
Christopher Cain,
Lou Diamond Phillips,
Emilio Estevez and
Kiefer Sutherland, were honored with a
Bronze Wrangler for their work on the film
Young Guns. In 1994 Sheen was awarded a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 7021
Hollywood Boulevard.
For his work on the political sitcom
Spin City, Sheen gained two
ALMA Award nominations and won the
Golden Globe for
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy.
Sheen also won an
ALMA Award, gained three
Emmy Award nominations, and two
Golden Globe award nominations
for his role in the sitcom
Two and a Half Men.
Filmography
Films
Short films
| Year
| Film
| Role
| Notes
|
| 1986 | A Life in the Day | |
|
| 1989 | Comicits | Himself | also producer
|
| 2003 | Deeper Than Deep | Charles "Chuck" E. Traynor |
|
| 2004 | Spelling Bee | Himself | from 3 & 3
|
Television
