Key Takeaways
- Missing Interviews: Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez chose not to participate in the documentary.
- Respectful Decision: Martin Sheen felt Charlie’s message was more important than his presence in the film.
- Brotherly Support: Emilio Estevez wanted to allow Charlie to share his story without interference.
- Positive Relations: Their absence is not due to any rift, but rather a testament to their familial love.
The new Netflix documentary aka Charlie Sheen features a number of interviewees throughout its two parts. We’re talking Jon Cryer and Chuck Lorre and Sean Penn and Chris Tucker and even ex-wife Denise Richards. But two notable names who are missing are father Martin Sheen and brother Emilio Estevez – hell, even Ramon Estevez turns up, but not Emilio or the old man. So what gives? As it turns out, both had good enough reason to decline being interviewed.
As aka Charlie Sheen director Andrew Renzi told Deadline, it came down to knowing that neither Martin Sheen nor Emilio Estevez truly needed to sit down for a comprehensive story to be told. “I actually watched the movie with them, so I got to sit next to Martin while he watched. It was one of the most intimidating moments of my life, but it was really just a function of Martin feeling as though Charlie’s message to his father was so present and maybe more available than him sitting for an interview. I don’t know if Martin wanted to sit down with me and relive all of that stuff. He felt like, this is Charlie’s moment to tell his story. You don’t need me. I respected the heck out of that. I mean, that’s a dad who really wants to just look out for his son and himself.”
As for Estevez – who kept his birth name (remember, Charlie’s real name is Carlos Estevez) – he didn’t want to take anything away from his brother. “And then Emilio, it just felt like he saw this as Charlie’s moment and Charlie was able to finally tell his story the way that he wanted to tell it. None of that ended up being controversial. Everyone was open about the communication. Those guys are minutes from each other, probably seeing each other on a weekly, daily basis. And so it was nice for me to know that it had nothing to do with whatever perceived rift there might be. It was quite the opposite. It was because of the love they all have for each other.”
While it’s nice to know that neither Martin Sheen nor Emilio Estevez has a personal grudge with the subject (Estevez even interviewed Charlie himself this month), no doubt their inclusion would have helped aka Charlie Sheen at least a bit. Even still, there is a lot explored through the Netflix doc, which our own Alex Maidy gave a 7/10.
Have you had a chance to watch aka Charlie Sheen yet? What were your takeaways from it?
