Eight years sober, Charlie Sheen says he is open to acting again — but insists that he is not thinking too much about his professional future right now.
Sheen, whose drug addiction and substance abuse issues made him the subject of multiple, high-profile public scandals in the early 2010s after he was fired from his starring role in “Two and a Half Men,” is on the verge of releasing his new memoir, “The Book of Sheen,” on Sept. 9. That same week, he is also set to star in the new two-part, Netflix tell-all documentary about his life “aka Charlie Sheen,” which debuts Sept. 10 on the streaming service.
Despite the forthcoming releases of these two retrospective projects, Sheen told People in an interview published Tuesday that he is not thinking about the current moment as the launch of a new phase of his career. “I’m not calling all of this a comeback,” he said. “I’m calling it a reset. I’m just living for the next moment, whatever that turns out to be.”
“It’s not about me setting the record straight or righting all the wrongs of my past,” the actor, who turns 60 on Wednesday, noted of his memoir and Netflix doc. “Most of my 50s were spent apologizing to the people I hurt. I also didn’t want to write from the place of being a victim. I wasn’t, and I own everything I did. It’s just me, finally telling the stories in the way they actually happened.”
Sheen partly attributed his very public 2010s crash-out to not only his addiction to drugs and alcohol, but also his dependence on a testosterone cream that he said turned him into a “raving lunatic.” He also admitted that, after quickly achieving mainstream success in the late ’80s and early ’90s, there was a part of him that believed his fame and wealth would not last long.
“There was always that voice of doubt, that it was only a matter of time before it all went away, so enjoy it as heartily as you can,” he confessed. As for finally becoming sober in 2017, Sheen told People that the impetus for his sobriety was his desire to be a father that his four children, Sami, Lola, Max and Bob, could depend on.
“You have to be willing,” he said of giving up drugs and alcohol. “I keep a [mental list] of the worst, most shameful things I’ve done, and I can look at that in my head if I feel like having a drink.” Reflecting further, Sheen added, “Whether it’s true or not, I like to think the next hit would kill me.”
When it comes to making amends, the actor revealed that he has found it harder to forgive himself for his past mistakes than it has been for others. “Forgiveness is still an evolving thing,” he shared.
“I still get what I call the ‘shame shivers.’ These are the moments that hit me, of the heinous memories and choices and consequences. They’re getting farther in between, so I guess that’s progress,” Sheen concluded. “What has been interesting about making amends is that most people have been like, ‘Hey yeah, we’re good man, but we hope you’ve also forgiven yourself.’”
Netflix’s “aka Charlie Sheen” premieres Sept. 10.
