Martin Sheen talks about Charlie's drug use
LOS ANGELES (AP) - May 27, 2008 "When a life is at stake and it's your child, you become
fearless in a lot of ways. I mean, you just become fanatic," the
67-year-old actor says in the July/August issue of AARP The
Magazine. "Nothing ever gets done unless it's done by a fanatic."
Sheen, who portrayed fictional President Josiah Bartlet on NBC's
"The West Wing," tells the magazine how he intervened to save his
actor-son.
"The only way I got to Charlie, frankly, was because he'd
skipped out of the hospital. I had to pay the bill," Sheen says.
"In paying the bill, I got to see why he was in there. He'd
consumed an illegal substance; he was on probation. ... This was a
criminal matter. And so that was the wedge; that was the leverage I
had. That is what I took to the court; that's what I took to the
sheriff. It was the only way I got him."
The veteran TV and film star, who battled alcoholism himself,
also turned to Alcoholics Anonymous to help his son.
"I got sober through Catholicism, through my faith," Sheen
tells the magazine. "I only got involved with AA when I was trying
desperately to find a way to help Charlie, because I didn't have
any skills."
Sheen also talked about his career and politics, saying he
doesn't plan to run for public office.
"I'm not qualified," he says. "It's crossed my ego. I feel
like a public servant. I feel like a responsible citizen. But I
couldn't do it professionally. I don't have the temperament."
Charlie Sheen, 42, stars in CBS' "Two and a Half Men."