Talk:Martin Sheen

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[edit] Does he and his sons speak spanish or galician?

Anyone knows if they speak spanish or galician?

Onofre Bouvila 03:45, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sheen's mother

I believe Sheen's mother's name is spelt Mary Anne Phelan, not Marry Anne Phelan. Here are two examples from The N.J. Star-Ledger and The N.Y. Daily News. These articles also state that she hailed from Tipperary, not Galway - anyone have a reliable source for which it is?. Maybe both? Tertulia 16:21, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Pro-choice or pro-life?

I found that he marched in the pro-choice "March for Women's Lives" only a year ago. [1] --Fallout boy 21:48, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Easy mistake to make Fallout Boy, but Sheen's name was wrongly used for this march and was withdrawn. [2] Quote: "Actor Martin Sheen has backed out of being listed as an endorser for the pro-abortion march sponsored by leading abortion advocacy groups. Whether the listing of him as a sponsor was accidental or if Sheen didn't know the march's purpose is to support abortion is still a question."

Labelling pro-life/choice is hard in Sheen's case, because he is pro-life, but does not believe that the state should prevent women from having an abortion. He has, however, as stated in this Wikipedia article, campaigned with Consistent Life, which speaks out against abortion. If we have to assign him to one of these two categories, "pro-life" is the most appropriate, I think, although unfortunately this suggests a belief in legislating against abortion, which he apparently does not subscribe to. Here is Matty j's explanation and source, which was inexplicably removed from this talk page by Digby a few days ago:

"I removed the Pro-Life category.

I found this quote at [3]: "I cannot make a choice for a women, particularly a black or brown or poor pregnant woman. I would not make a judgment in the case. As a father and a grandfather, I have had experience with children who don't always come when they are planned, and I have experienced the great joy of God's presence in my children, so I'm inclined to be against abortion of any life. But I am equally against the death penalty or war-- anywhere people are sacrificed for some end justifying a means. I don't think abortion is a good idea. I personally am opposed to abortion, but I will not judge anybody else's right in that regard because I am not a woman and I could never face the actual reality of it."

He seems fairly explicity that, while he is personally opposed to abortion, he does support (to some degree) the right to have one. I would say, although there is disagreement, that the pro-life/pro-choice labelling should be reserved for one's political opinions on the matter (whether they ultimately support the right to have an abortion, or the right of a fetus' life), not their personal views. -- Matty j 21:46, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC)"

I agree with Matty j, and suggest that as neither "pro-life" nor "pro-choice" is a satisfactory label for Mr Sheen's beliefs, we should remove the category altogether, and cover the subject in the article. Tertulia 00:24, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

When you belong to a pro-life group and makes people take his name off of pro-choice events. He is considered a pro-life celebrity. I know it kills you libs that someone like Martin Sheen is against abortion but no parsing of his statements is going to change the facts. Not judging others for their actions is part of his religion.

It is pure censorship removing the category listing. Your so called proof is no proof at all, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Dwain 02:24, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

His statement that he could allow people to choose abortion doesn't sound very pro-life to me. I originally got involved with this and created Category:Pro-life celebrities because I was so surprised to find out he was pro-life. It doesn't surprise me to find out he's not very consistent. I concede that it doesn't sound like he belongs in the pro-life category. But all this material definitely needs to be put into the article. Jdavidb (talk) 15:02, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

Definitely needs to be put into the article, rather than leaving it as a link at the bottom. While I would contest that the label "pro life celebrity" doesn't quite fit, it seems to me it's a moot point, as he's close enough for it not to be a misnomer. Unfortunately, it implies he's involved in campaigns for the legisislation against abortion, which he is not (according to the interview). Someone should just address that briefly and let the link elaborate. I mean, ultimately, it's really not that important what he thinks. -- Yossarian

09:44, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

This a false dichotomy: pro/anti-abortion and pro/anti-choice are two different axes of opinion, so that pro-life and pro-choice are not really opposites, though of course they are typically seen as such. Given the quotes above, I would say that Sheen is both anti-abortion (or pro-life if you like) AND pro-choice; perhaps he should be put in both categories? --ScottAlanHill 22:02, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pro-Choice Equals Pro-Abortion

There´s no false dichotomy at all. For a catholic, abortion is murder, and there can´t be a law that says that is morally acceptable to choose betwen the life or elimination, if we don´t want to choose the word death, of the unborn, in their first weeks of gestation. The pro-choice people just like to pretend that they can be opposed to abortion and support a law that totally allows it with any restrictions. What happened in USA unlike Europe was what it can be called a christian even catholic secularization, because most pro-choice supporters there are christians, despite all christian tradition being strongly pro-life. As if Martin Sheen would supports a law that restricts abortion in USA to extreme cases that remains unknown. He supports some pro-life organizations but he doesn´t have any problem in supporting pro-choice politicians. I think he should read more what Jesus said about supporting oposite causes.85.240.21.67 (talk) 15:15, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Removed

There was a certain irony in his visit because Cindy Sheehan had demanded to speak with Republican President George W. Bush, and Sheen plays Democratic President Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing. Original research, or somethin' - definitely not encyclopaedic Sherurcij 09:24, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

I readded the above info, rewritten with a quote and a source. I think that juxtaposition/contradiction of him being there while Bush was not, is partly what makes the event significant.--newsjunkie 11:42, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

Alright, that's a good way of putting it thanks, especially the quote. I removed the "Democrat/Republican" markers though, don't want to seem polarizing :) Much thanks Sherurcij 07:31, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

Also removed mention of his being a member of Consistent Life, since they post a full memberlist on their website[4] and he is not listed. Sherurcij 09:27, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Anti-Fascist

Writing that the anti-Bush group he signed a statement for is "anti-fascist" is a political opinion about the Bush administration and is therefore a violation of neutrality. Therefore, I deleted that label user:stanley011

While I agree with your decision I disagree with your assessment. Describing a group does not necessarily violate NPOV. The most important question is whether or not the description/label is accurate and fair. This can be difficult but some of the relevant assessments include:

Is this the label commonly used by the group to describe itself?
Is this the label commonly used by others, especially the media and general commentators to describe the group
Is this the label commonly used by researchers to describe the group?
Do other encylopedias describe the group using this label?
Based on the groups activities and public statements and generally accepted meaning of the label, is this an appropriate label?

There are probably others points I missed but these are some of them. Using such an analysis, you can decide and hopefully reach consensus on whether a label is accurate or not to describe a group. If a label is accurate then it should remain. Just because a group has a label doesn't imply you're making a statement about people the group is critical of. For example, describing an anti-war group as an anti-war group doesn't mean people the group criticise love war. Similarly describing an environmentalist group as an environmentalist group doesn't mean people the group are critical or don't care about the environment. So just as similarly describing an anti-fascist group as anti-fascist doesn't make people the group is critical of fascists. In fact removing a label simply because your disagree or unhappy with the implications of said label for people the group is critical of is the real violation of NPOV. Of course, if a group has a broad range of activities, it probably has several labels. Choosing which one to use (if any) in this case may be tricky. And of course, it isn't always necessary to label a group in any reference. Labelling must be done with appropriate care and only when necessary. Deciding when a label is appropriate or necessary can be tricky. But it can be done Nil Einne 22:14, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Consistent Life ethic/group

I have modified the bit about consistent life. I see no evidence he is a member of the consistent life group and indeed the consistent life group appears to be an umbrella group uniting various groups who subscribe to the consistent life ethic and doesn't seem to have individuals as members. However the reference that was already there along with the article on the ethic DOES support the idea that he is an exponent of the ethic. Nil Einne 22:23, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Apocalypse Now scene--briefing at Na Trang

Martin Sheen--my fav scene from Apocalypse

[edit] Irish actor?

Isn't Sheen an Irish actor, seeing as he's a citizen of Ireland? Or would he be an Irish-American actor... Or an American-Irish actor... Hrms, confusing. What's the details of his citizenship of Ireland? Dual? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.94.241.211 (talk) 17:02, 12 December 2006 (UTC).

Both, I'd assume, much the same way as Anthony Hopkins is considered an American actor on account of his taking up US citizenship a few years back. As his mother was Irish, he was entitled to take up Irish citizenship, which he's publicly stated he has, and holds an Irish passport, which requires Irish citizenship. All that makes him American, Irish-American, Spanish-American, and Irish. --Kgaughan (talk) 10:59, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

I don't think he's Irish in the sense he's a citizen of Ireland. I think his ancestors are Irish. - Cubs Fan (talk) 00:17, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

This quote explicitly says that he is an Irish citizen. -- Arwel (talk) 22:48, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

He has said it elsewhere as well.Londo 06 22:50, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Birth name

Sorry, I'm confused. Was he born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez or Marty Sheehan? I couldn't work it out from the article. Tobelia 01:29, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

The article says he was born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez, and later adopted Martin Sheen, just like his son. I hope this helps! Jayden54 08:52, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Are there any sources out there that explain why he changed his name (first and last) in the first place? Is it one of those sounds better to the audience types of things? -- MiG 22:26, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rating

Upgraded rating to B-class because after looking through it I felt it had all the major components necessary for a biographical article. Zephyr44 19:53, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Dear Martin:

== i am seeing Apocalypse right now and had to send you a note. You are so awesome. May God bless you always. What a great actor!! and how many great movies have you done. It is an amazing~ scope of work.

When we saw you on Two and a Half Men last week, we could not stop thinking about you. The Apple does not fall far from the tree. You have been a treasured Actor in my household. You are always welcomed in Tampa, Florida. My regards to Charlie...........fabulous show and so much loved to see you as Rose's Father. That was great. You brought a smile to our lives.

Please let me know if you are coming to Tampa. We would love to meet you. My friends have several restaurants and Horses at the Tampa Bay Down in Tampa and we would enjoy hosting you.

Sincerely and Respectfully always,

franci fernandez and Peter Szetela 3305 West Ellicott Tampa, Florida 33614 813-877-6577 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.184.204.93 (talk) 06:22, 25 May 2008 (UTC)