The 'West Wing' star is dad to Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estévez.
Martin Sheen is opening up about one of his biggest regrets. In a recent interview with Closer magazine, the West Wing star is asked about his sons, Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estévez, getting into acting, which leads to him talking about changing his name from Ramón Estévez.
Sheen says he was "so self-involved and trying to be a provider that I wasn’t aware of their inclination to being actors." He adds that "the only influence I had on Emilio was to keep his name."
"When he started out, his agent was advising him to change his name to Sheen and he wouldn’t do it," Sheen recalls. "And I thank God he didn’t."
The 81-year-old actor says changing his name, which he reportedly did because he felt it would earn him more acting roles, is "one of my regrets."
"I never changed my name officially. It’s still Ramón Estévez on my birth certificate. It’s on my marriage license, my passport, driver’s license," he notes. "Sometimes you get persuaded when you don’t have enough insight or even enough courage to stand up for what you believe in, and you pay for it later. But, of course, I’m only speaking for myself."
Born in America to a Spanish father and an Irish mother, Francisco Estévez and Mary Ann Phelan, Sheen is proud of his heritage, and says one of his favorite movie projects was a tribute to his dad.
"The one that fills me with the deepest gratitude and satisfaction is called The Way. We made it in Spain about the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and dedicated it to my father, who was from Galicia," Sheen recalls to the magazine. "It was written, directed and starred my son, Emilio Estévez. It is the best thing I’ve ever done. Thousands of people have seen the film and been inspired to do the pilgrimage. That is a great source of satisfaction and pride."
For more on the Sheen-Estévez family, check out the links below.
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