Charlie Sheen Reveals Why Dad Martin and Brother Emilio Estevez Declined to Be in His Doc After Watching It

Charlotte Phillipp, Scott HuverFri, April 24, 2026 at 7:04 PM UTC

0

American actors Martin Sheen (left), his sons Charlie Sheen (center) and Emilio Estevez in 1996.Credit: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty -

Charlie Sheen is opening up about why his famous family opted not to participate in his tell-all documentary

During a panel event for his two-part Netflix documentary, aka Charlie Sheen, director Andrew Renzi said Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez decided not to appear in the film because it was "Charlie's moment"

"[Emilio] felt they were my stories to tell," Charlie added

Charlie Sheen is opening up about why his famous family opted not to participate in his tell-all documentary.

During a panel event for his two-part Netflix documentary, aka Charlie Sheen, on Wednesday, April 22, the actor, 60, shared why his dad Martin Sheen and brother Emilio Estevez decided not to appear in the film.

"[Martin] saw it and loved it and was just, he was laughing, he was crying, he was so engaged and he comes up to me afterwards and says, 'I'm already in it. I'd much rather be young, handsome in this thing than this guy right now, you don't need this old guy in your movie,' " he recalled, opening up about the first time his family came together to watch a cut of the film. "I'm like, 'Well, beg to differ.'"

The film's director, Andrew Renzi, shared that Emilio opted not to participate so that Charlie could have the spotlight.

"He wanted Charlie to have the project," Renzi said. "...It was just Charlie's moment and we were in it."

"He felt they were my stories to tell," Charlie added.

Charlie Sheen attends a conversation for his book "The Book Of Sheen"Credit: Dominik Bindl/Getty

Renzi added that he believed the Estevez family didn't want to tell stories about Charlie that are already well-documented.

"If I'm putting myself in their shoes without them saying this directly to me, this is their life that they've lived for a long time and there was probably going to be a whole bunch of crap that they just didn't want to have to sit there and have to talk about," the director said.

Advertisement

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

According to Renzi, Martin also seemingly wanted to protect his son's reputation throughout the production of the documentary.

"There was another thing that Martin said specifically that I will always really respect, just him being a father," he shared. "...He said, 'If this goes sideways, if you do him dirty' — basically without saying that because Martin Sheen would never talk about that — '...If this goes sideways, I need to be able to stand beside my son because I always have. And if I'm in this thing, I can't, because I will have been complicit in this thing that you created.' "

aka Charlie Sheen covers the actor's wild ride, told through the voices of friends, other family members and colleagues, including Denise Richards, Heidi Fleiss, Jon Cryer, Sean Penn, Ramon Estevez, Brooke Mueller, Chris Tucker and his former drug dealer Marco.

Sheen, who is now several years sober, is also a participant in the doc. He speaks freely about not just the darker parts of his life, but also about his childhood growing up in Malibu and life as a megawatt celebrity in the '80s and '90s, before he became a tabloid fixture for his drug use and volatile personal life.

According to a Netflix statement, "The most outrageous moments of Sheen’s life are revisited with raw emotion and exceptional warmth, painting a portrait of a flawed man whose penchant for self-destruction is ultimately no match for the ferocious love and forgiveness he inspires in those closest to him."

Martin Sheen, 85, born Ramón Gerard Antonio Estevez, and his wife, Janet Sheen, 81, wed in 1961 and are parents to four children: Emilio Estevez, 63, Ramon Estevez, 62, Charlie (born Carlos Estevez) and Renée Estevez, 59.

In the documentary, which premiered on Netflix last year, Ramon reflected on their rather unconventional childhood growing up in Malibu, Calif. and traveling with dad Martin for work.

"My dad always made it very clear that he wanted us all to be with him in his work. He didn't want the family dynamic to suffer just because he had this job somewhere else," he said. "I thought we were incredibly lucky to be able to go along with [him]."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”