How Martin Sheen Reacted to Son Charlie Sheen's Doc, According to Director

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Martin Sheen declined to participate in the new Netflix documentary about his son Charlie Sheen’s highs and lows — and for a very relatable reason.

“My perspective on it was that he wanted his son to have his moment to tell his story, and didn’t feel like he needed to add to all of the stuff that he lived throughout,” Andrew Renzi, director of the new film aka Charlie Sheen, told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Thursday, September 11.

“I had a way to put him into the story that he felt was almost better, [so] sitting for an interview wasn’t necessary,” the filmmaker continued. “And Emilio felt sort of the same.”

Charlie’s older brother Emilio Estevez also declined to participate. Charlie’s other brother, Ramon Estevez, did, however, sit down in front of the cameras for the two-part docuseries, released on Wednesday, September 10. The candid film features several interviews from those who knew or know Charlie best, including his ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller as well as actors Jon Cryor and Sean Penn.

Renzi also told the outlet that he believes Charlie, 60, who battled drug and alcohol addiction for years, is completely sober now.

“The one thing I can say about Charlie because of everything that you saw in the film — and also everything that I knew off-camera and everything that I experienced with him — is that honesty is not something I grappled with,” Renzi emphasized. “The things I knew, the things he told me, the things that ultimately I decided didn’t have a place in the film but felt so revealing — I never grappled with honesty. He’s sober. For sure.”

Charlie told cameras that he decided to finally get sober after he forgot an appointment for his daughter, Sami. Because he was using at the time he could not drive, and instead had to rely on a diver to take his daughter to and from the appointment. The Platoon actor recalled the moment in both the documentary and his new memoir, The Book of Sheen: A Memoir, released on Tuesday, September 9.

“It was December 10, 2017, and by 9 a.m. I was on my third Macallan-spiked coffee,” Charlie, who shares daughters Sami and Lola Sheen with Richards, wrote. “My phone rang and when I picked up, it was my daughter Sam asking what time we were leaving. S***; her appointment that day had slipped my mind. I’ve never mixed the cups with the wheel, so I called Tony T. to come bail me out of a situation he was all too familiar with. There’s reliable and then there’s that dood.”

He added, “My man was there in twenty-two minutes, and in very short order we were on the road with 13-year-old Sam in the back seat and the two adults up front. (Well, one adult for sure). Thanks to T, the trip was handled with a combination of precision and grace.”

He also noted Sami was “quiet” on the way home. “I didn’t need to be clairvoyant to know exactly what she was thinking,” he wrote. “Why is Dad not driving-again? Why isn’t it just the two of us in the car like it used to be? When will that moment ever return? When will Dad ever return? I miss him. I missed him too. There was only one thing that felt worse than betraying myself, and that was failing my children.”