Martin Sheen
Birthday:
3 August 1940, Dayton, Ohio, USA
Birth Name:
Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez
Height:
170 cm
Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner Martin Sheen is one of America's most celebrated, colorful, and accomplished actors. Moving flawlessly between artistic mediums, Sheen's acting range is striking.Sheen was born Ramón Antonio Gerard Estevez in Dayton, Ohio, to Mary-Ann (Phelan), an Irish immigrant (from Borrisokane, County Tipperary)...
Show more »
Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner Martin Sheen is one of America's most celebrated, colorful, and accomplished actors. Moving flawlessly between artistic mediums, Sheen's acting range is striking.Sheen was born Ramón Antonio Gerard Estevez in Dayton, Ohio, to Mary-Ann (Phelan), an Irish immigrant (from Borrisokane, County Tipperary), and Francisco Estevez, a Spanish-born factory worker and machinery inspector (from Parderrubias, Galicia). On the big screen, Sheen has appeared in more than 65 feature films including a star turn as Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Francis Ford Coppola's landmark film Apocalypse Now (1979), which brought Sheen worldwide recognition. The film also starred Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall. Other notable credits include Wall Street (1987) (with son Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas), Academy Award-winning film Gandhi (1982) (with Sir Ben Kingsley), Catch Me If You Can (2002) (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks), The American President (1995) (with Michael Douglas and Annette Bening) and a Golden Globe nominated breakthrough performance as Timmy Cleary in The Subject Was Roses (1968), a role he originated on Broadway and for which he received a Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actor.In 2006, the actor played ill-fated cop Oliver Queenan in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Departed (2006) opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin.The same year, Sheen joined another all-star ensemble cast for the highly acclaimed feature Bobby (2006), written and directed by his son 'Emilio Estevez'. Bobby was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award; and starred Anthony Hopkins, Harry Belafonte, Laurence Fishburne, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Elijah Wood, Demi Moore and Heather Graham.For television audiences, Sheen is best recognized for his six-time Emmy nominated performance as President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing (1999). Sheen won six of his eight Golden Globe nominations as well as an ALMA Award; and two individual SAG Awards; for the White House series. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor TV Series Drama in 2001.Of his ten Primetime Emmy nominations, Sheen won for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series on the long-running sitcom Murphy Brown (1988) (starring Candice Bergen) in 1994. In addition, he has garnered a Daytime Emmy Award for directing and another for performance.In 2006, Sheen was again nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series; this time for the CBS hit comedy Two and a Half Men (2003), starring his son Charlie Sheen.In addition to series television, Sheen has appeared in several important made-for-television movies and mini-series including playing President John F. Kennedy in the television mini-series Kennedy (1983) for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. Show less «
I love being Spanish as much as I love being Irish, and I really love being Irish.
I love being Spanish as much as I love being Irish, and I really love being Irish.
[on his political activism and arrests for protests] I love my country enough to suffer its wrath.
[on his political activism and arrests for protests] I love my country enough to suffer its wrath.
[on son Charlie Sheen] No father could ever be prouder of his son. I hold Charlie's accomplishments dearer than my own. He has been through ...Show more »
[on son Charlie Sheen] No father could ever be prouder of his son. I hold Charlie's accomplishments dearer than my own. He has been through so much and overcome so much more. Even if he weren't my son he'd still be my best friend. Show less «
I consider myself a liberal Democrat, but I'm against abortion.
I consider myself a liberal Democrat, but I'm against abortion.
I adored Mr. Clinton. And he was a fan of The West Wing (1999). For a while, we were given carte Blanche at the White House, which ended whe...Show more »
I adored Mr. Clinton. And he was a fan of The West Wing (1999). For a while, we were given carte Blanche at the White House, which ended when Bush got in - ended for me anyway. When the new administration got into power, all my "West Wing" colleagues were invited there to meet their counterparts. All except me. I was very relieved about that. Show less «
Whenever I would call for an appointment, whether it was a job or an apartment, and I would give my name, there was always that hesitation a...Show more »
Whenever I would call for an appointment, whether it was a job or an apartment, and I would give my name, there was always that hesitation and when I'd get there, it was always gone. So I thought, I got enough problems trying to get an acting job, so I invented Martin Sheen. I've never changed my name; it's still Estevez officially. Show less «
[on changing his name] I never changed it officially. I never will. It's on my driver's license and passport and everything: Ramon Gerard Es...Show more »
[on changing his name] I never changed it officially. I never will. It's on my driver's license and passport and everything: Ramon Gerard Estevez. I started using Sheen, I thought I'd give it a try, and before I knew it, I started making a living with it and then it was too late. In fact, one of my great regrets is that I didn't keep my name as it was given to me. I knew it bothered my dad. Show less «
[on missing out on the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972)] I was wrong for it but you never pass up an opportunity. I remember...Show more »
[on missing out on the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972)] I was wrong for it but you never pass up an opportunity. I remember saying to Francis Ford Coppola - that was not the first time I had met him - "If you don't use Al Pacino in this part, it would be like benching Joe DiMaggio in his prime." Show less «
[on filming The Way (2010) on the Camino di Santiago de Compostela] Pilgrimage is structured so it takes you out of your comfort zone. You p...Show more »
[on filming The Way (2010) on the Camino di Santiago de Compostela] Pilgrimage is structured so it takes you out of your comfort zone. You pack all the things you need and soon you realize it's too heavy and have to start unpacking. Then the transcendence starts on stuff you've packed in your interior life, and you begin opening those closets and cells and dungeons and letting all the people out you've been punishing all your life. Show less «
[on the troubles his son Charlie Sheen has been experiencing] All of us have a repository of emotional life. We have a licence to explore th...Show more »
[on the troubles his son Charlie Sheen has been experiencing] All of us have a repository of emotional life. We have a licence to explore that private pain and bring it public, but only for the purpose of playing a character. It's called emotional memory. This one is very difficult because it's so deeply personal and painful. Show less «
I was shooting a movie in Rio this summer. I was at a street food place and four boys came up. They were pooling their money to buy somethin...Show more »
I was shooting a movie in Rio this summer. I was at a street food place and four boys came up. They were pooling their money to buy something. I said to the counter guy, "Give them whatever they want." One of them, the leader, looked at me and I thought, "My God. That's me as a child." Show less «
I don't like scary films. I watched Psycho (1960) for the first time recently, alone in the house at night. That was a mistake. I had to cal...Show more »
I don't like scary films. I watched Psycho (1960) for the first time recently, alone in the house at night. That was a mistake. I had to call my friend to come over. Show less «
The last thing that really turned me upside down was [Robert De Niro] in Raging Bull (1980) - a transcendent performance. It tells us that i...Show more »
The last thing that really turned me upside down was [Robert De Niro] in Raging Bull (1980) - a transcendent performance. It tells us that if you're not able to forgive, this is where you end up: in a dark cell. Show less «
James Dean had such a powerful effect on my generation. I'd love to have worked with him. I did a TV pilot with Sal Mineo once and I drove h...Show more »
James Dean had such a powerful effect on my generation. I'd love to have worked with him. I did a TV pilot with Sal Mineo once and I drove him crazy asking about Dean. He'd disappear when he saw me coming. On the last day, he came to my trailer. I said, "Sal, come on in!" He said, "No, no. I just wanted to say goodbye." I said, "Well, it was a pleasure working with you." As he walked away, he looked over his shoulder and said, "He would've liked you." Show less «
[on his stance on abortion] I cannot make a choice for a women, particularly a black or brown or poor pregnant woman. I would not make a jud...Show more »
[on his stance on abortion] I cannot make a choice for a women, particularly a black or brown or poor pregnant woman. I would not make a judgment in the case. As a father and a grandfather, I have had experience with children who don't always come when they are planned, and I have experienced the great joy of God's presence in my children, so I'm inclined to be against abortion of any life. But I am equally against the death penalty or war - anywhere people are sacrificed for some end justifying a means. I don't think abortion is a good idea. I personally am opposed to abortion, but I will not judge anybody else's right in that regard because I am not a woman and I could never face the actual reality of it. Show less «
[2011] I would say that maybe there are a dozen films I've done that are of significant worth and that were great experiences. But you shoul...Show more »
[2011] I would say that maybe there are a dozen films I've done that are of significant worth and that were great experiences. But you should see the other 90%! The vast majority of them were to pay the bills. I don't think there's any actor who's been around as long as I have that wouldn't agree that a lot of what we do is for the money. You have to be honest about that. Because then when you do land something extraordinary like Apocalypse Now (1979), Badlands (1973), or The West Wing (1999), you *know* this is something really special. Show less «
Coach Duke Goulding
Charles Marlow
McKinney
Ben Parker
A.J. MacInerney
Cal Jamison
Father Juilliard
Frank Hallet
Kit
Walker
Matthew Cuthbert
Burke's Mother-in-Law
Carl Fox
Glenn Warburg
Captain Daniel Richards
Captain Hollister
Tom
Queenan
1st Lt. Dobbs
Gen. Robert E. Lee
Greg Stillson
Roger Strong
Jason Wynn
Warren Lasky
Frank
E.G. Sonderling
Robert
Father Douglas
Noah Dietrich
President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet
Sgt. Seymour Skinner
Martin
Matthew Cuthbert