Charlie Sheen is one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood. But according to the star himself, there will never be another celebrity quite like him — and that’s not a bad thing.
“I can’t influence how it’s going to be received, but I can hope and semi-predict that people are going to be interested in hearing it from the guy who lived it – survived it,” he told TheWrap at last week’s “aka Charlie Sheen” premiere. “If they were never able to, then all those stories just exist out there in a different way than they should.”
“I don’t feel like celebrity is as hunted anymore. There are the occasional examples, but I don’t think a Hollywood story like this can happen again, because of the attention to mental health awareness,” Sheen continued. “Stars these days, actors, are pretty insulated. They’re protected. Look how many people don’t drink who were never even problem drinkers.”
The “Platoon” and “Two and a Half Men” icon’s two-part Netflix documentary explores the rise and fall(s) of a Hollywood royal. While his famous family didn’t partake in the doc, director Andrew Renzi echoed Sheen’s sentiments on the Tudum Theater red carpet.
“Charlie is one of one. I don’t think a Charlie Sheen story can exist ever again, and that’s probably a good thing,” the filmmaker said. “I love stepping into stories about icons who have some controversy attached to them, who are both the products of our attention and affection but also anger and ire. I was really interested in telling the story of a Hollywood icon that wasn’t purely celebratory.”
In fact, it was Renzi’s decision to make the doc independently (before Netflix eventually stepped in to help finish it off) that got Sheen on board.
“He just started talking about things that I don’t give myself credit for. I don’t live in a shrine to myself, I don’t put a ton of value on things that have already happened, I try to look forward,” the actor explained. “I’m proud of the stuff, the good things I’ve done, but he started laying things out: ‘I’m the only guy who’s done this thing or that thing. That’s a story we need to tell, and a lot of the insanity that went along with that smorgasbord is worth digging into as well.’ He told it in a way that would honor it but also not shy away from the dishonorable stuff.”
The two-part documentary “aka Charlie Sheen” is now streaming on Netflix.
