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Martin Sheen is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter and Executive Producer American born on 3 august 1940 at Dayton (USA)

Martin Sheen

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Birth name Ramón Antonio Gerard Estevez
Nationality USA
Birth 3 august 1940 (84 years) at Dayton (USA)

Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American actor (of Galician-Spanish and Irish ancestry) who first achieved fame with roles in the films Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979).

Other notable films in Sheen's career include Gettysburg (1993), The Departed (2006), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). He also starred in the television series The West Wing (1999–2006) as President Josiah Bartlet.

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 by immigrant parents, he adopted the stage name Martin Sheen to help him gain acting parts. He is the father of four children (Emilio, Ramón, Carlos (aka Charlie Sheen), and Renée), all of whom are actors, as is his younger brother Joe Estevez.

Although known as an actor, Sheen also has directed one film, Cadence (1990), appearing alongside sons Charlie and Ramón. He has narrated, produced, and directed documentary television, earning two Daytime Emmy awards in the 1980s. In addition to film and television, Sheen has been active in liberal politics.

Biography

Family
Sheen married Janet Templeton on December 23, 1961, and they have four children, three sons and a daughter, all of whom are actors: Emilio, Ramón, Carlos, and Renée. All but one decided to keep their own names when they began acting – Carlos made the decision to use his father's stage name, Charlie Sheen.

Charlie and his father jointly parodied their respective previous roles in the 1993 movie Hot Shots! Part Deux their river patrol boats passed each other, at which point they both shouted, "I loved you in Wall Street!" a film they both starred in as father and son in 1987.

He has played the father of sons Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen in various projects: he played Emilio's father in The War at Home, In the Custody of Strangers and The Way, and Charlie's father in Wall Street, No Code of Conduct, Cadence and two episodes of Spin City. He also appeared as a guest star in one episode of Two and a Half Men playing the father of Charlie's neighbor Rose (Melanie Lynskey), and another as guest star Denise Richards's father; at the time that episode aired, Richards was still married to Charlie. Martin also played a "future" version of Charlie in a VISA TV commercial. Martin has played other characters with his children. He starred in the film Bobby, which was directed by Emilio, who also starred in the movie alongside his father. Renée had a supporting role in The West Wing, as one of President Josiah Bartlet's (Sheen) secretaries.

Sheen became a grandfather at age 43 when his son Emilio had a son named Taylor Levi with his girlfriend, Carey Salley. Sheen has a total of ten grandchildren, the other nine being: Paloma Rae (from Emilio), Cassandra, Sam J, Lola Rose, Bob and Max (from Charlie) and Katherine, Luis Jr. and Christopher (from Ramon) and one great-granddaughter Luna (from Cassandra).

He celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary in 2011.

In 2012, Sheen was a guest on the U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing his Irish and Spanish ancestry.

Academic pursuits
After the end of filming of The West Wing, Sheen announced plans to further his education: "My plan is to read English literature, philosophy and theology in Galway, Ireland, where my late mother came from and where I'm also a citizen." Speaking after an honorary arts doctorate was conferred on him by the National University of Ireland, Sheen joked that he would be the "oldest undergraduate" at the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway, when he started his full-time studies there in the autumn of 2006. Although expressing concern that he might be a "distraction" to other students at NUIG, he attended lectures like everyone else. Speaking the week after filming his last episode of The West Wing, he said, "I'm very serious about it." He once said, "I never went to college when I was young and am looking forward to giving it a try . . . at age 65!" On September 1, 2006, Sheen was among the first to register as a student at NUI Galway. He left the University after completing a semester.

Sheen maintains links with Galway and "heartily" supported Michael D. Higgins in the Irish presidential election, 2011, having become a "dear friend" of Higgins while studying there.

Protests
In a speech at Oxford University in 2009, Sheen admitted to having been arrested 66 times for protesting and acts of civil disobedience. He was described by human rights activist Craig Kielburger as having "a rap sheet almost as long as his list of film credits."

On April 1, 2007, Sheen was arrested, with 38 other activists, for trespassing at the Nevada Test Site at a Nevada Desert Experience event protesting against the site.

Religion
Sheen is a Roman Catholic, having had his faith restored by a series of meaningful conversations in Paris in 1981 with Terrence Malick, the director of Sheen’s breakthrough film, Badlands (1973). He is a supporter of the Catholic Worker movement. He stated in 2012 that he supports same-sex marriage, unlike the Catholic Church's position on the matter.

Family Life and Abortion Stance
Sheen is often considered pro-life. He discussed his views in a 2011 interview with RTÉ in which he said his wife was conceived through a rape and he says had her mother aborted her, or dumped her in the Ohio River as she had considered, his wife would not exist. He also talked about three of his grandchildren who were conceived out of wedlock, saying his sons "were not happy at the time but they came to love these children. We have three grown grandchildren, two of them are married, they're some of the greatest source [sic] of joy in our lives." He has also stated his empathy for women facing unexpected pregnancy and that he didn't oppose their right to 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.