credit: @akawilliamhbonney
If you asked us to guess which famous actor is the brother of actor Emilio Estevez, we would immediately guess it’s Michael J. Fox. Let’s be honest; these two talented actors bear a striking resemblance to one another, and you can’t fully convince us they are not related. However, it’s not Michael J. Fox who shares parents with Estevez. In fact, his actual brother’s identity is going to shock you, and then the other details of his life are going to shock you further. Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen are brothers (but we are certain Michael J. Fox fits in there somewhere…change our minds). How did this happen?
Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen are Brothers
Emilio Estevez was born on May 12, 1962, to Martin Sheen and Janet Sheen. Charlie Sheen was born on September 3, 1965, three years after Emilio Estevez. There are more siblings, though. They have two more, which makes a total of four siblings. Ramon Estevez was born on August 7, 1963, which makes him the second oldest child in the family. Renee Estevez was born on April 2, 1967. Emilio is the oldest of all the kids in his family, and his brother Charlie Sheen is the second youngest. They share the same mother, and they share the same father.
Why Do Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen Have Different Last Names if They are Full Siblings?
Here’s where things get a little complicated and difficult to follow. They are not half-brothers, as many people assume they are. They have the same mother, and they have the same father. Martin Sheen married Janet Templeton in 1961, and they have been married for 62 years as of 2023. They share all four children (and I’m convinced Michael J. Fox somewhere…but this is just me starting rumors that aren’t true).
Credit: @charliesheen
Martin Sheen was not born Martin Sheen. His birth name is Ramon Antonio Gerardo Estevez, and he was born in 1940 in Dayton, Ohio. He wanted to be an actor, but he found that giving his full name didn’t seem to allow him to land any jobs. “Whenever I would call for an appointment, whether it was a job or an apartment, and I would give my name, there was always that hesitation, and when I’d get there, it was always gone. So I thought I had enough problems trying to get an acting job, so I invented Martin Sheen. It’s still Estevez, officially. I never changed it officially. I never will. It’s on my driver’s license and passport and everything. I started making a living with it, and then it was too late. In fact, one of my greatest regrets is that I didn’t keep my name as it was given to me. I knew it bothered my dad,” said Martin Sheen of his decision to change his name.
Does This Mean Charlie Sheen Also Changed His Name?
Yes, that’s precisely what it means. Charlie Sheen is, by birth, Carlos Irwin Estevez. He is the only child in the family who chooses to take his father’s fake last name and use it for his own. He was around four when he began using the name Charlie, but it wasn’t for acting reasons. Charlie had an uncle Carlos, so he chose to go by Charlie to minimize any familial confusion. He was always Charlie, but he didn’t use Sheen as his last name until he decided to follow in his father’s and older brother’s footsteps. Charlie chose to take on his father’s fake last name to work, and that was that for him.
Credit: @charliesheen
What is the Relationship Like Between the Brothers?
Both Emilio and Charlie have massive careers. They were two of the biggest stars in the 80s and 90s, and their names are instantly recognizable. However, Charlie Sheen has had a rough go of it in the last few decades. Though he’s been successful at work, his personal life has been one disaster after another, and it has had an effect on the way the brothers get along. Emilio Estevez has been very candid about his feelings regarding his brother’s personal issues. “We all had the same set of rules. It really gives credence to the theory that substance abuse is genetic and that sometimes it skips either a generation or siblings,” he said in an interview. Sheen’s substance abuse issues are famous in Hollywood, and he has had a lot of negative press about it over the years.
Unfortunately, Estevez doesn’t feel that his own past sits well with his brother. He was a party boy through and through, though he has long since grown out of that phase. He’s settled, living a much quieter life, and trying to support his brother. He hopes to be a good role model, but he feels that being sneaky about his own issues when he was younger doesn’t sit well with Charlie Sheen. “All I can do for Charlie, and I can’t live his life for him, is to try to be a good example. But, really, I was a pretty poor one. As a kid, I was smart enough to be surreptitious about all my misbehavior, or at least stealthy. But it means that my opinions carry little weight with Charlie,” said his older brother.
