Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen (born Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez) is an Emmy-winning actor. Sheen was born in Dayton, Ohio, and adopted the name Martin Sheen early in his career to help land acting jobs but never legally changed it. After graduating high school, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.

Sheen joined the Living Theatre company after moving to New York and landed his first television role in 1963. He went on to appear on a handful of TV shows before his breakout role came in the 1973 crime drama Badlands, followed by his iconic portrayal of Captain Benjamin Willard in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now in 1979.

The actor gained a new generation of fans as President Josiah Bartlet on NBC’s The West Wing from 1999 to 2006. His performance earned him six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He later won the 2001 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series for the role.

Over his decades-long career, Sheen has appeared in more than 100 film and TV projects, including The Departed (2006), The Way (2010) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). From 2015 to 2022, he was a principal cast member of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie.

In 2025, the Emmy winner joined the cast of The CW’s Wild Cards as Jonathan Ashford.

Martin married Janet Templeton in 1961. The couple share children Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Renée Estevez, who have all pursued careers in entertainment.