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Martin Sheen: 1940—: Actor, activist

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A powerful, versatile actor, Martin Sheen is equally convincing in roles as diverse as the rebel killer in Badlands, a homophobic father in Consenting Adults, and President Kennedy in the television miniseries JFK. In his film roles Sheen has often played the loner or outsider, whereas many of his television portrayals are of historical or political figures. His political activism is at least as important to him as his acting career; he is tireless in his appearance at rallies and protests for nuclear disarmament, homeless rights, opposition to the death penalty, and other causes.

Martin Sheen was born Ramon Estevez on August 3, 1940 in Dayton, Ohio, the seventh of ten children. His father, Francisco, was a Spanish emigre; his Irish-American mother, Mary Ann, died when he was 11. The family was quite poor and at times had to turn to local Catholic organizations for assistance.

Young Ramon decided to become an actor after a small role in The Caine Mutiny at Chaminade High School. This led to a prize-winning appearance on a local television talent show. His father wanted him to go to the University of Dayton rather than attempting to become an actor. To avoid directly defying his father's wishes, Ramon deliberately failed the college entrance exam.

Proud of Hispanic Heritage

Sheen's parish priest gave him bus fare to New York. He took the usual variety of low-income jobs such as clerking while pursuing his acting dream and going on casting calls. At this time he changed his name because jobs for Hispanic actors were almost nonexistent. He chose Sheen in honor of prominent televangelist Fulton Sheen. In an interview with Horizon Magazine, Sheen said, "I'm very proud of my Hispanic heritage … I never changed my name. I never will. In the context of the business, I had to adapt to a way of nonconfrontation 40 years ago, so I invented myself. I invented Martin Sheen. Within my heart I'm still Ramon."

Sheen never took formal acting lessons. He began working with the experimental theater groups—The Actors' Co-op and The Living Theater—and did custodial work at the theater and sometimes was an under-study before moving up to appearing on stage. Early roles included ones in Yeat's Purgatory and the controversial Connection, a play about drug addiction. At this time Sheen met Janet Templeton, an art student who became his wife in 1961.

In 1964 Sheen received critical acclaim on Broadway in The Subject was Roses in which he played a soldier returning home to his fractured family. He was nominated for a Tony award and also received a Golden Globe award nomination for his lead in the film adaptation. Throughout much of his career, Sheen has continued to work sporadically in theater.

Sheen first appeared in film as a teenage hoodlum who hijacked a subway in 1967's The Incident. He gave an arresting performance as the amoral teen killer in 1973's Badlands, but was less than stellar in the horror movies Spawn, Firestarter, and The Dead Zone. More recently, he has done excellent supporting work in respected films such as Gandhi, 1982 and The American President, 1995, in which he played the Chief of Staff. In the 1987 movie Wall Street, he played opposite his son Charlie.

Heart of Darkness

Of his film work, Sheen is best-known for his mesmerizing role in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), even though he was not the actor Coppola wanted for the part. The story is based on Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness. The film takes place during the Vietnamese conflict and Sheen plays the pasrt of Captain Willard, a man leading a secret mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade officer, played by Marlon Brando. Sheen's character was often drunk, which was mirrored by the actor's growing problem with alcohol. His over consumption of alcohol, combined with extraordinarily difficult filming conditions in the Philippines (including a typhoon), may have contributed to the heart attack he suffered on location. He was stricken while alone in the wilds and had to drag himself almost a mile for help. Sheen prayed to Mary for strength and vowed to "change my life from this day forward." He has followed up on his vow. His strong religious beliefs as a Catholic have also contributed to many of his political convictions, including his anti-death penalty stance.

Sheen is also well-known for his television work. His early television work included playing a wife-beater in the series East Side, West Side and appearances in The Outer Limits, The Defenders, Route 66, and other dramatic series. In 1967 he was a regular on the soap opera As The World Turns. In 1974 he starred as Robert F. Kennedy in The Missiles of October, a show about the Cuban Missile Crisis. The same year, he was acclaimed for his work in The Execution of Private Slovik. In Blind Ambition, a 1979 miniseries, Sheen portrayed John Dean, special counsel to President Nixon, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Actor. In 1993 he turned in another widely lauded performance as John F. Kennedy in the miniseries JFK.

Sheen's other notable television roles included the ground-breaking 1972 television movie That Certain Summer, in which he played the lover of a gay father revealing his homosexuality to his son. Ironically in 1985 Sheen gave a convincing rendition of a father unable to accept his son's homosexuality in Consenting Adult. He gave strong performances in Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story, about a champion of homeless rights, The Andersonville Trial, and Gettysburg, in which Sheen played General Robert E. Lee. Expanding outside the field of actor, Sheen won a daytime Emmy in 1986 for his directorial debut of Babies Having Babies, a CBS Schoolbreak Special.

Dedicated to Social Causes

In 1999 Sheen began his portrayal of another President on the very successful television show The West Wing. He plays New England Democrat President Josiah Bartlet, a role that has won him Emmy nominations. Although his character was a very decent, moral man, the role sometimes required Sheen to champion causes to which he was personally opposed. Sheen, however, is able to separate his very strongly held beliefs from his acting career. His dedication to anti-nuclear weapons, anti-death penalty, workers' rights, and other causes have lead to his arrest on approximately 70 occasions.

Sheen didn't just show up at rallies, either. Sheen donated his income from the motion picture Gandhi to Mother Teresa. He helped pay for medical care for three young survivors of a massacre at a church in Mexico. Other favored causes included the United Farm Workers and the rights of the homeless.

Sheen was a strong supporter of the Democratic party. Despite his dedication to social causes and his frequent portrayals of political figures, Sheen says he has no interest in running for office himself. He is forthright about other conflicts between his acting career and his beliefs. In 1999 he stated his agreement with the views of Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman, who decried Hollywood's obsession with sex and violence. He will not accept roles that contain unnecessary sex or violence. Sheen believes that he has probably lost jobs because of his activism, but that he may have been hired for others by people who supported his views.

Sheen has been nominated for and has won awards in all fields of acting, from Tonys to Emmys. In 1998 Sheen received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Imagen Foundation, an organization that honors positive portrayals of Latinos in film, television, and advertising. He received Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for Kennedy and for Best TV Actor for the miniseries Blind Ambition. He won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series on Murphy Brown. He has also received awards for his social activism, including the 2001 Peacemaker Award from the Physicians for Social Responsibility.

An Acting Dynasty

Unlike many celebrities, Sheen and his wife Janet have been happily married for four decades. Three of their children, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, and Renee Estevez, are actors; son Ramon is both an actor and a songwriter. Like his father, Charlie Sheen has had a much publicized struggle with alcohol and drugs. According to acquaintances, Martin felt a strong sense of responsibility for his son's problems, feeling that he was not there for his son growing up and gave Charlie too many material things. Martin has taken a "tough-love" approach to Charlie's problems. He called on Charlie's fellow actors Rob Lowe and Clint Eastwood to participate in a confrontation demanding that Charlie straighten up. Sheen stated in The New York Times, "Pray for my boy, he has appetites that get him into trouble." Finally he alerted authorities that Charlie had broken the terms of his probation by using drugs. Charlie then attended a rehabilitation center, which has helped him stay sober.

Martin Sheen has appeared with his children in film and television. Most notably, Martin directed himself and sons Charlie and Ramon in the well-intentioned if heavy-handed Cadence. Charlie plays a young private thrown into the stockade. Martin plays the racist stockade commander. Martin Sheen both directed and acted in the television movie Beverly Hill Brats with son Ramon. His wife Janet was the producer. Martin had a small role parodying Apocalypse Now in Hot Shots Part Deux, which his son Charlie starred in. Martin also guest-starred on Charlie's hit series Spin City. Daughter Renee has a regular role on The West Wing with her father. The head of such a successful acting dynasty is certain to act in many more laudable roles, alone and with his family, and it is certain that his fans will follow him with the avid interest he deserves.

Selected filmography

The Incident, 1967.

The Subject Was Roses, 1968.

The Andersonville Trial, 1970.

Catch-22, 1972.

Badlands, 1974.

Apocalypse Now, 1979.

The Final Countdown, 1980.

Gandhi, 1982.

Firestarter, 1984.

Cadence, 1989.

JFK, 1991.

The American President, 1995.

Spawn, 1997.

Not Another Teen Movie, 2001.

The Confidence Game, 2002.

We the People, 2002.

Catch Me If You Can, 2002.

Sources

Books

Current Biography 1977, 38th edition, Moritz, Charles, ed., H.W. Wilson, 1977.

Gale Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th edition, Gale Research, 1981.

Hargrove, Jim, Martin Sheen: Actor and Activist, Children's Press, 1991.

Riley, Lee, and David Schumacher, The Sheens: Martin, Charlie and Emilio Estevez, New York, 1989.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, St. James Press, 1996.

International Motion Picture Almanac 1996 edition, Quigley Publishing Co, 1996.

Sorkin, Aaron, Sheen, Martin, The West Wing, Pocket Books, 2002.

Periodicals

The American Feminist, Spring, 2001.

The Guardian (Manchester), November 2, 2001.

Horizon Magazine, December, 1999.

The New York Times, February 4, 2002.

People, January 5, 2001.

Toronto Sun, March 2, 1999; June 30, 1999.

On-line

About.com PrimeTime TV/The WestWing, http://primetimetv.about.com/library/actors/blmartinsheenbio.htm?terms=%22martin+sheen%22

http://members.tripod.com/vonne920/martin_sheen/ms_dialogue.html

Fresh Air, NPR Interview Transcript, http://freshair.npr.org/guestInfoFA.cfm?name=martinsheen

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,8480,00.html

http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/bios/Martin_Sheen.html

http://www.webactive.com/webactive/pacifica/demnow/dn990810.html

http://www.celebrity1000.com/celebritysites/male/martinsheen

http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/bio/celeb/344674

Physicians for Social Responsibility, http://www.psrla.org/sheen.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/newsid_941000/941165.stm

http://members.tripod.com/vonne920/martin_sheen/order.html

—Ruth Savitz