“I am cool, you should see me when I’m hot!” – Navy Seals. It’s been a Charlie Sheen renaissance with his new memoir The Book of Sheen and Netflix documentary aka Charlie Sheen landing within days of one another. We attended a book release with Sheen in person, the baseball and movie loving star was charming and in good spirits. Side note, this Barnes & Noble is next to the theater where Sheen attended the premiere of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Pound of Flesh years earlier. The two had struck up a friendship in the post Planet Hollywood days and reunited in the 2010’s.
The Book of Sheen is an open, fun and shocking look back at his adventure and celebration filled life. Born Carlos Irwin Estevez, son to famous actor Martin Sheen and little brother to future movie star Emilio Estevez, Carlos spent his childhood in Malibu with soon to be famous neighbors Rob Lowe and Sean and Chris Penn. A few jaunts to film sets with the family, including a lengthy and eye opening stay in the Philippines for Franis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Carlos Estevez caught the performing bug young. Committing to acting as Charlie Sheen, he found himself working regularly and building a career, fast.
Red Dawn brought some heat, a small role in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off made him a known entity and Platoon took him into another stratosphere. Sheen doesn’t spend too much time talking movies in the book or doc which is a shame as he’s been in so many memorable ones. Platoon and Wall Street get the bulk of his recollections while there’s nary a reference to Major League, Navy Seals, Young Guns, The Rookie, Hot Shots or The Three Musketeers. The Wraith gets brought up frequently but not in a positive way.
Being thrust into the limelight and flush with cash so young, Sheen breaks down his partying ways that started as a teen and only got more intense as the money and fame grew. In the 90’s he meets kindred spirit Nicolas Cage and the two embark on many a substance fueled quest for fun and women. His first of seven interventions occurred in his early 20’s and Sheen goes through episodes of sobriety, rehab, marital and parental gymnastics, scandals and redemption. After the film career slowed down, a two year stint on TV’s Spin City netted him a Golden Globe and lead to Two and a Half Men, where he’d become the highest paid actor on TV while losing grip on sobriety and professionalism as seasons went by.
Sheen is pretty sparse on his infamous firing and “Winning!” period, electing not even to spell out the word as we can all see and hear it. It’s heartwarming to hear he finally got sober for his kids and is approaching eight years of substance free living. Between seeing him in person, reading the book and watching the doc, I fired up Wall Street, The Arrival and a few episodes of Two and a Half Men to compliment. You can catch him “Alive on Stage” across the US next month where you can hear his incredible stories live and go for a Meet & Greet.