What Is Martin Sheen’s Ethnic Background?
Fans of Two and a Half Men are quite familiar with Charlie Sheen. His father, Martin Sheen, is also a popular and well-known actor in Hollywood. The West Wing star is known as Martin Sheen today, but he changed his birth name. So, what is Martin Sheen’s ethnic background? Here’s what to know about where he’s from and how he feels about his name change now.
What is Martin Sheen’s ethnic background? He changed his name for Hollywood
Martin Sheen succeeded in becoming a famous Hollywood actor, and he changed his name in the hopes of becoming a success story. According to Fox News, he wanted to be like James Dean, and he didn’t feel his birth name, Ramon Estévez, could’ve gotten him there.
So, what is Martin Sheen’s ethnic background? The actor was born to a Spanish father, Francisco Estévez, and Irish mother, Mary-Anne Fieland. His mother was from Borrisokane in County Tipperary, according to the BBC. Fieland reportedly emigrated to the U.S. during the Irish War of Independence.
While participating in the genealogy TV series Who Do You Think You Are?, Sheen learned more about his family’s link to the Irish War of Independence. He believes his uncle was imprisoned in Ireland.
“I’m enormously proud of him,” Sheen said of his uncle fighting. “I would like to hope that if I had been here in Ireland at the time, I would have followed him and I would have been as committed as he was.”
The actor regrets changing his name
While Martin Sheen’s ethnic background is certainly something he should be proud of, he explained to Closer Weekly that he regrets changing his name after all these years, according to Fox News.
“That’s one of my regrets,” the 81-year-old explained. “I never changed my name officially. It’s still Ramon Estévez on my birth certificate. It’s on my marriage license, my passport, driver’s license. Sometimes you get persuaded when you don’t have enough insight or even enough courage to stand up for what you believe in, and you pay for it later. But, of course, I’m only speaking for myself.”
Fox News notes Sheen “adored” his father, too, perhaps making the decision to change his name away from his father’s last name even more difficult. While his father didn’t initially want Sheen to head into showbusiness, he later gave the actor his blessing. “He finally saw that I was committed and realized it would be a life and death struggle with me if I didn’t pursue it,” Sheen explained. “When I got ready to go, he blessed me, and he continued to bless me the rest of his life.”
Are Martin Sheen and Emilio Estévez related?
Martin Sheen’s children went on to have acting careers, too. Charlie Sheen, who had the birth name Carlos Irwin Estévez, might be the most well-known of Martin Sheen’s kids. But he also had three other children – Emilio Estévez, Renée Pilar Estévez, and Ramon Estévez. Martin Sheen and Emilio Estévez are related, and one of Sheen’s favorite films he ever took part in, The Way, was written and directed by his son, Emilio.
Back in 2013, Charlie Sheen briefly dropped his stage name for his birth name for the film Machete Kills. CNN reports the actor’s representative said Charlie wanted to use his birth name for the film, though it was unclear at the time if he wanted to continue using his birth name moving forward.
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