Martin Sheen on His Life, Movies, Celebrity, Peace, the Environment, and Social Justice (1995)
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3,
1940), better known by his stage name
Martin Sheen, is an
American actor who achieved fame with roles in the films
Badlands (
1973) and
Apocalypse Now (
1979). Since then,
Sheen's more well-known films include
Wall Street (
1987),
Gettysburg (
1993),
The Departed (
2006), and
The Amazing Spider-Man (
2012). He also starred on television as
President Josiah Bartlet in
The West Wing (1999--2006), and lent his voice as the
Illusive Man in the
Mass Effect video game trilogy.
He is considered one of the best actors never to have been nominated for an
Academy Award.[2] In film he has won the
Best Actor award at the
San Sebastián International Film Festival for his performance as Kit Carruthers in Badlands. His portrayal of Capt.
Willard in Apocalypse Now earned a nomination for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor. Sheen has worked with a wide variety of film directors, such as
Richard Attenborough,
Francis Ford Coppola,
Terrence Malick,
David Cronenberg,
Mike Nichols,
Martin Scorsese,
Steven Spielberg, and
Oliver Stone. He has had a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame since
1989. In television he has won both a
Golden Globe and two
Screen Actors Guild awards for playing the role of President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing, and an
Emmy for guest starring in the sitcom
Murphy Brown.
Born and raised in the
United States from immigrant parents, he adopted the stage name Martin Sheen to help him gain acting parts.[3] He is the father of four children (
Emilio,
Ramon,
Carlos (better known as
Charlie Sheen), and Renée), all of whom are actors, as is his younger brother
Joe Estevez.
Although known as an actor, Sheen has also directed one film,
Cadence (
1990), appearing alongside sons
Charlie and Ramon. He has also narrated, produced and directed in documentary television, earning two
Daytime Emmy awards in the
1980s. In addition to film and television, Sheen has also been active in liberal politics.
In
2010, Martin Sheen first spoke to 18,
000 young student activists at
Free The Children's We Day, explaining "While acting is what I do for a living, activism is what I do to stay alive."[26]
Although he did not attend college, Sheen credited the
Marianists at
University of Dayton as a major influence on his public activism, as well as
Archbishop Desmond Tutu.[27] Sheen is known for his outspoken support of liberal political causes, such as opposition to
United States military actions and a hazardous-waste incinerator in
East Liverpool, Ohio. Sheen has resisted calls to run for office, saying: "There's no way that I could be the president. You can't have a pacifist in the
White House . . . I'm an actor. This is what I do for a living."[28] Sheen is an honorary trustee of the
Dayton International Peace Museum.
He supported the
1965 farm worker movement with
Cesar Chavez in
Delano, California.[29] He is a proponent of the
Consistent life ethic, which advocates against abortion, capital punishment and war
.[30] He also supports the
Democrats for Life of America's
Pregnant Women Support Act.[31] In 2004 along with
Rob Reiner, Sheen campaigned for
Democratic presidential candidate
Howard Dean, and later campaigned for nominee
John Kerry.
On May 16,
1995, Martin Sheen and
Paul Watson from the non-profit environmental organization
Sea Shepherd, were confronted by a number of
Canadian sealers in a hotel on
Magdalen Islands over Sea Shepherd's history of attacks on sealing and whaling ships. Sheen negotiated with the sealers while
Watson was escorted to the airport by police.[32] In
2000, Sheen got involved in support of gun control after the
National Shooting Sports Foundation hired his politically conservative brother, actor Joe Estevez who sounds like Sheen, to do a voice over for a pro-gunmaker commercial earlier in the year.[33][34] In early
2003 Sheen signed the "
Not in My Name" declaration opposing the invasion of
Iraq (along with prominent figures such as
Noam Chomsky and
Susan Sarandon); the declaration appeared in the magazine
The Nation. On August 28,
2005, he visited anti-Iraq War activist
Cindy Sheehan at
Camp Casey. He prayed with her and spoke to her supporters. He began his remarks by stating, "At least you've got the acting president of the United States," referring to his role as fictional president Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing.[35] Cindy Sheehan had been demanding a second meeting[36] with the
President, George W. Bush.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen