Martin Sheen Biography

American actor Martin Sheen was born Ramon Antonio Gerardo Estevez in 1940 in Dayton, Ohio. Sheen grew up in a working class household, as one of ten children. After the tragic death of his mother when he was only eleven, young Martin went to work to help the family, but by his early twenties he’d decided to move to New York to try and launch a career as an actor.

While in New York, Sheen adopted his official stage name, after discovering that agents were reluctant to hire him under his actual name. He made his television debut in an episode of The Outer Limits (called “Nightmare”), and then moved to stage for his debut appearance in The Subject Was Roses; he reprised that role for the film adaptation in 1968, which earned him critical acclaim and award nominations. But it was his role in the film Apocalypse Now in 1979 which truly became Martin Sheen’s breakthrough, eventually making him one of the most respected and recognizable actors of the 1980’s and beyond.

Since then, Martin Sheen has gone on to appear in such notable films as Ghandi (1982), Firestarter (1984), Wall Street (1987), Nightbreaker (1989), Cadence (1990), JFK (1991), Hear No Evil (1993), Gettysburg (1993), The American President (1995), Catch Me if You Can (2002), The Departed (2006), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), and Selma (2014.) Perhaps the role with which Martin Sheen is still most frequently associated today, however, is his depiction of American president Josiah Bartlet in the television series the West Wing, which ran from 1999 to 2006. The role earned Sheen multiple Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama.

Today, Martin Sheen is still well-known for his acting roles, but he is also an active voice for a number of philanthropic and humanitarian causes. Sheen’s public activism includes support of organizations such as the Farm Workers Movement, Consistent Life Ethic, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, By Any Means Necessary, and various democratic political candidates.

Martin Sheen’s next acting appearance is in the 2016 film, Rules Don’t Apply.