How Martin Sheen Reacted to Watching Charlie Sheen Documentary
Martin Sheen wants his son to have the spotlight.
Two days after Charlie Sheen released his Netflix documentary, aka Charlie Sheen, the director of the two-part film Andrew Renzi shared how the actor's famous dad felt about bringing his tumultuous real-life story to life.
"I watched the documentary sitting next to Martin," the filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Sept. 11, adding that the West Wing star was the "scariest person" to view the doc with. "I was, like, sitting next to the president of the United States, watching one of the earlier cuts of this film."
But Andrew's nerves were ultimately unnecessary. After all, he said Martin—who, along with Charlie's brother Emilio Estevez, opted not to sit down for an interview for the project—remained supportive of the final result.
"My perspective on it was that he wanted his son to have his moment to tell his story," Andrew explained, "and didn’t feel like he needed to add to all of the stuff that he lived throughout."
And while Martin may not share his perspective on his son's life in the documentary, Andrew still found a way to nod to the patriarch.
"I had a way to put him into the story that he felt was almost better, [so] sitting for an interview wasn’t necessary," he said. "And Emilio felt sort of the same."
The first part of aka Charlie Sheen premiered on Netflix on Sept. 10 and featured interviews from several members of the Two and a Half Men alum's inner circle, including his costar on the sitcom Jon Cryer, his longtime friend Sean Penn and his ex-wife Denise Richards, with whom he shares daughters Sami Sheen, 21, and Lola Sheen, 20. (Charlie is also dad to daughter Cassandra, 40, with ex Paula Profit and twin sons Bob and Max, 16, with ex Brooke Mueller.)
In addition to addressing Charlie's longtime struggles with drug addiction, the special unpacks several other aspects of the actor's life, including his career in Hollywood, his three marriages and his sexuality.
For Andrew, his main goal for the yearlong project was to create a safe space for Charlie—who is now sober—to get candid about each topic that came to light.
"There’s sort of this grab bag of things that I wanted to protect him about," the director shared. "I didn’t want him to feel like he was saying things that he maybe didn’t want to say."
For more on the Sheen family, keep reading.
Charlie welcomed his first child Cassandra with his high school girlfriend Paula Profit in 1984 when he was only 19 years old.
While Cassandra has mostly stayed out of the spotlight, she was escorted down the aisle at her 2010 wedding to Casey Huffman by the Two and a Half Men star.
Charlie and now-ex-wife Denise Richards welcomed their eldest daughter together on March 9, 2004 two years after they wed.
Sami first entertained the limelight when she appeared on Denise's 2008 E! reality series Denise Richards: It's Complicated as a child.
Over a decade later, she made a name for herself in 2022 when she became an OnlyFans model shortly after turning 18. And the young star's career move has proved to be quite lucrative ever since.
“It opened so many doors for me,” Sami told People in February 2025, “and I've met really cool people doing it, and it's been really rewarding being my own boss and making my own hours and being able to do the things I've always wanted to do.”
Lola, who was just 3 when It's Complicated premiered, grew up to be very different than her boundary-pushing older sister.
Born June 1, 2005, she is a woman of God and a devout Christian.
“I can't explain it other than it literally was supernatural,” the restaurant hostess told People in an interview published Feb. 2025 after getting baptized in the church. “Jesus rescued me and he completely rewired my mind. He became my Savior, but also my best friend.”
The teen also shared how religion saved her from the darkness of depression.
“I felt so lost and hopeless, and was just doing my best to make it to the next day,” she admitted on Instagram. “He gave me a light, when I couldn’t find my own, and rescued me from the darkness. Jesus saved me from battling severe anxiety, and gave me a peace that makes no sense.”
Following her divorce from Charlie, newly-single Denise adopted her youngest daughter Eloise as an infant in 2011. In 2016, she was diagnosed with a deletion in chromosome 8 which caused developmental delays in walking and speech.
"Eloise is a bright light," the proud mom told People in March 2025. "She just loves everything, and she just embraces it and is just so happy. And the older girls see it too. Sometimes if they go at each other, [Eloise will] just be like... And I'm like, 'I know.' And then they laugh, and then they can kind of get past whatever stupid thing they're fighting about."
Charlie and third wife Brooke Mueller welcomed twin boys Bob Sheen and Max Sheen on March 14, 2009. The couple divorced less than two years later, with Bob and Max living with Denise during their parents' contentious split.
In 2023, Charlie got candid about raising his youngest children as a single dad.
"Their mom has been trying to figure some stuff out on her end, so she's not in the picture too much right now," he told People at the time. "They're really cool, really smart, and really funny."
While they mostly stay out of the spotlight, the twins made a rare appearance at their mom's 47th birthday celebration in August 2024.
Let's not forget that Charlie (real name Carlos Estévez) was born into a famous family. His dad is legendary actor Martin Sheen (born Ramon Estévez), whose Hollywood career spans more than six decades.
Charlie's older brother Emilio Estévez also followed in their father's footsteps having starred in classic films like The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, Mission Impossible and The Mighty Ducks.
The stars also share brother Ramon Estévez and sister Renée Estévez.
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