In aka Charlie Sheen, the now-sober actor reflects on the ups and downs of his life and career with startling candor, describing drug- and alcohol-fueled destruction that should have, according to the actor, killed him. But the documentary makes clear what has kept Sheen around to eventually see sobriety: his friends and family (even ex-wives and a former drug dealer) whose love for Charlie was, thankfully, stronger than his addiction. But two voices are notably absent from the film: Sheen’s eldest brother, actor Emilio Estevez, and his father, Martin Sheen.
According to director Andrew Renzi, Martin and Emilio declined to participate on camera, but not because they weren’t in favor of the project. “They wanted to let Charlie have this moment,” Renzi explains. “I sat down with them to watch the movie, and they are fully supportive of it and love it. They are all very close.”
Much of Charlie’s early story is told within the context of Martin’s own struggle with addiction, culminating in a heart attack and a challenging recovery while shooting Apocalyse Now. In fact, Martin’s presence, career, and support underscored Charlie’s entire life and career — and is a constant reference point for Charlie throughout the doc. “I thought that it was kind of almost beautifully poetic to have to tell the story without him,” he said to Rebecca Lavoie on Netflix’s You Can’t Make This Up podcast.
“From my perspective, […] Martin, as a father, didn’t want to just have some guy sit across from him and make him relive all of those moments, [which] he feels are behind him now. That’s something I really respected.”
The film notably uses footage from films like Wall Street (1987) and Cadence (1990), in which Martin and Charlie both star, to depict emotional moments in their relationship and pivotal moments in their lives. “There is not a father-and-son duo in the history of entertainment who have shared the screen as much as Charlie and Martin have,” Renzi says. “Charlie’s character [in Wall Street] was the son who had lost his way, and the father wants to get him back on track. And I thought it was a great way to have Martin live in this movie. They were living this journey together while taking on roles that told this story. I needed to make sure it was a part of this documentary.”
aka Charlie Sheen is available to stream now.
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Solve the classic numbers game.
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