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Martin Sheen (born August 3, 1940) is an American actor. Sheen was born Ramon Estevez in Dayton, Ohio. He is of Irish and Spanish extraction.
Sheen had wanted to act since he was very young, but his father disapproved. He purposely flunked out of the University of Dayton so that he could pursue his goal. His first major role was on Broadway, in The Subject Was Roses, which he recreated in the 1968 film of the same name. But he did not receive another important part until 1973, when he starred with Sissy Spacek in the crime drama Badlands. It was his 1979 starring role in Apocalypse Now which gained him fame. He received much critical acclaim for his starring role as Private Eddie Slovik in the motion-picture story of the last American soldier to be sentenced to execution at a court-martial.
Sheen married fellow actor Janet Templeton in 1961, and the two have four children, all actors:
- Charlie Sheen, with whom Martin Sheen starred in Wall Street in 1987
- Emilio Estevez
- Ramon Estevez
- Renée Estevez
Martin Sheen is no stranger to politics, both professionally and in real life. He has played US President John F. Kennedy (in the movie Kennedy - The Presidential Years) and fictional democrat president Josiah Bartlet in the acclaimed television drama The West Wing. Sheen is known for his robust support of liberal political causes, and has been arrested several times for protesting against United States military actions.
Sheen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1500 Vine Street.