Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performance as President Josiah Bartlet in the television series The West Wing (1999–2006). He achieved fame with roles in the films Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979), and made notable appearances in Wall Street (1987), The Departed (2006), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), and the Mass Effect video game trilogy.
He is considered one of the best actors never to be nominated for an Academy Award despite his acclaimed performances. 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 lead role of President Bartlet in The West Wing, and an Emmy for guest acting in the sitcom Murphy Brown.
Born and raised in the United States from immigrant parents – a Spanish father, Francisco Estévez from Salceda de Caselas in Galicia (Spain) and a first-generation Irish mother, Mary-Anne Phelan from Borrisokane in County Tipperary – he adopted the stage name Martin Sheen to help him gain acting parts. He is the father of four children (Emilio, Ramon, Carlos and Renée), all of whom are actors, as is his younger brother Joe Estevez.
Although known as an actor, Sheen has also directed one film, Cadence (1990), appearing alongside sons, Charlie and Ramon. He has also narrated, produced and directed in documentary television, earning two Daytime Emmy awards in the 1980s. In addition to film and television, Sheen has also become notable for his activism in liberal politics.
Read more about Martin Sheen: Early Life, Career, Political Activism, Awards and Honors, Filmography
Famous quotes containing the words martin and/or sheen:
“Here’s a wing [laughs]. What do you like, the leg or the wing, Henry, or do you still go for the old hearts and lungs?”
—Nicholas Pileggi, U.S. screenwriter, and Martin Scorsese. Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci)
“Baloney is flattery laid on so thick it cannot be true, and blarney is flattery so thin we love it.”
—Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979)