Charlie Sheen‘s father, Martin Sheen, intentionally chose not to participate in his son’s tell-all doc to not be “complicit” if it didn’t go well.
During a panel event for Netflix’s aka Charlie Sheen on Wednesday, April 22, director Andrew Renzi addressed Martin’s absence from the project, saying, “There was another thing that Martin said specifically that I will always really respect, just him being a father. He said, ‘If this goes sideways, if you do him dirty’ — basically without saying that because Martin Sheen would never talk about that.”
Renzi clarified that Martin, 85, wanted to prioritize supporting Charlie, 60.
“[He said], ‘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,'” he continued.
Renzi and Charlie acknowledged how some of his family, including brother Emilio Estevez, decided not to appear out of respect. Renzi recalled Estevez, 63, taking a step back because he “wanted Charlie to have the project.”
“He felt they were my stories to tell,” Charlie added before Renzi defended the family’s decision, saying, “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.”
Despite not being featured, Charlie got to hear feedback from his dad.
“[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 afterward 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,'” Charlie recalled about the first time his family came together to watch a cut of the film. “I’m like, ‘Well, beg to differ.'”
The first part of the Netflix documentary, which premiered in September 2025, featured a message that read, “Martin Sheen and Emilio Estévez declined to participate.” In the doc, Charlie was asked about their decision to opt out.
“Emilio and Dad, they fully support me. They’re rooting for me in ways you can’t even imagine. But I can’t expect people to revisit all the drug abuse and all the s***ty choices that hurt the people I love,” he explained. “Would I love them both in this? Absolutely. But I completely understand why they chose not to.”
Aka Charlie Sheen highlighted the actor’s rise to stardom and subsequent fall amid addiction struggles. Charlie’s exes Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller were interviewed, as were Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre and costar Jon Cryer. Charlie’s older brother Ramon Estévez was the only family member — outside of the actor’s youngest daughter with Richards, Lola, and son with Mueller, Bob — to participate.
Charlie said he hoped his dad still watched the doc. “I think it is hard for sons to always share with their fathers what is truly in their hearts,” he continued. “I hope he sees some of this as the love letter to him that it is.”
At the end of the two-part documentary, Charlie appeared to dedicate the project to his father after reflecting on their ups and downs.
“I can’t imagine being my dad. I can’t even imagine it. We banged heads a lot over the years. We haven’t for a long time,” he concluded. “We came to a place that’s been beautiful. It has been nourishing. If I could put it into one word: gratitude.”
