Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning American actor who earned recognition for his performances as Captain Willard in the film Apocalypse Now and President Josiah Bartlet on the long-running NBC political drama series The West Wing. Apart from the recognition he earned as an actor, he has gained visibility as an activist whose political views are closely intertwined with his personal religious convictions.

Political activism

Martin Sheen is no stranger to politics, both as an actor and in real life. He has played U.S. President John F. Kennedy (in the miniseries Kennedy — The Presidential Years), Attorney General Robert Kennedy in the television special The Missiles of October, White House Chief of Staff A.J. McInnerney in The American President, sinister future president Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone, and fictional Democratic president Josiah Bartlet in the acclaimed television drama The West Wing. 

Although he did not attend college, Sheen credited the Marianists at the University of Dayton as a major influence on his public activism. Sheen is known for his robust support of liberal political causes, such as opposition to United States military actions and a toxic-waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. Sheen has resisted calls to run for office, saying: "There's no way that I could be the president. You can't have a pacifist in the White House … I'm an actor. This is what I do for a living." Sheen is an honorary trustee of the Dayton International Peace Museum.

He supported the 1965 farm worker movement with Cesar Chavez in Delano, California. He has also supported causes for PETA and is a proponent of the Consistent Life ethic, which advocates against abortion, capital punishment and war. He also supports theDemocrats for Life of America's Pregnant Women Support Act. In 2004, along with fellow actor Rob Reiner, Sheen campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. He later campaigned for nominee John Kerry.

In 1992, Sheen and several others were unsuccessful in their attempt to convince a judge to impose no jail or prison time for those who were convicted of pulling innocent motorists from their vehicles and beating them during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, including the four young men seen on video footage around the world tossing a brick at truck driver Reginald Denny's head, crushing his skull and causing him permanent damage.

On May 16, 1995, Martin Sheen and Paul Watson from the non-profit environmental organization, Sea Shepherd, were attacked in a hotel on Magdalen Islands by a number of Canadian sealers, who were upset that they had come there to protest against the annual seal hunt and promote non-lethal alternatives. Sheen was trying to negotiate with the angry mob while Watson was escorted to the airport by police and had to spend the night in the hospital. On August 28, 2005, he visited anti-Iraq War activist Cindy Sheehan at Camp Casey. He prayed with her and spoke to her supporters. He began his remarks by stating, "At least you've got the acting President of the United States," referring to his role as fictional President Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing. Cindy Sheehan had been demanding to speak with the actual President, George W. Bush, again.

Sheen endorsed marches and walkouts called by the civil rights group, By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), to force the state of California to honor the Cesar Chavez holiday. On March 30, the day of the protests, thousands of students, primarily Latino from California and elsewhere, walked out of school in support of the demand. Sheen also stated that he participated in the massive immigration marches in Los Angeles in 2006 and 2007.

On April 10, 2006, the New York Times reported that members of theDemocratic Party in Ohio had contacted Sheen, attempting to persuade him to run for the U.S. Senate in Ohio. Sheen declined the offer, stating that "I'm just not qualified," he said. "You're mistaking celebrity for credibility." On November 26, 2006, the Sunday Times in theRepublic of Ireland, where Sheen was then living due to his enrolment in NUI Galway, reported on him speaking out against mushroom farmers exploiting foreign workers by paying them as little as €2.50 an hour in a country where the minimum wage was €7.65.

On April 1, 2007, Sheen was arrested, with 38 other activists, for trespassing at the Nevada Test Site at a Nevada Desert Experience event protesting the Nevada Test Site.

On October 27, 2007, Martin Sheen echoed his son Charlie Sheen's doubts about the public account of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He stated: "Up until last year, I was very dubious, I did not want to believe that my government could possibly be involved in such a thing, I could not live in a country that I thought could do that - that would be the ultimate betrayal. However, there have been so many revelations that now I have my doubts, and chief among them is Building 7 - how did they rig that building so that it came down on the evening of the day?"

His latest activism includes several attendances at meetings of the environmentalist group Earth First! Sheen has also endorsed and supported Help Darfur Now, a student run organization to help aid the victims of the genocide in Darfur, the western region in Sudan.

Sheen initially endorsed New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in the 2008 US Presidential Election, and helped raise funds for his campaign. After Richardson had dropped out of the campaign, Sheen stated in a BBC Two interview that he was supporting Barack Obama.

Awards

Sheen received six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance on The West Wing, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in TV-Drama, as well as two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, and was part of the cast that received two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

In his acting career, Sheen has been nominated for ten Emmy Awards, winning one. He has also earned eight nominations for Golden Glove Awards. Sheen has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1500 Vine Street.

Sheen was the 2008 recipient of the Laetare Medal, an annual award given by the University of Notre Dame for outstanding service to the Roman Catholic Church and society.

Thanks to Wikipedia for providing information on Martin Sheen.