Calling it “one of my regrets,” Martin Sheen says he wishes he wouldn’t have changed his name.
The actor, known legally as Ramon Estévez, told “Closer Weekly” over the weekend he should have kept his name.
He said that his father never wanted him to go into show business.
“You couldn’t blame him,” he said. “Both my parents were immigrants. My father was from Spain, and my mother was from Ireland. My real name is Ramon Estévez. My father was very practical. He was a factory worker for most of his adult life, and he wanted me to go to college and improve my chances of making a better living than he did. We had some very, very painful confrontations about it.”
For the record, his birth certificate, marriage license, my passport and driver’s license still say Ramon Estévez.
“Sometimes you get persuaded when you don’t have enough insight or even enough courage to stand up for what you believe in, and you pay for it later. But, of course, I’m only speaking for myself.”
He goes on to say he “thanks God” son Emilio Estévez didn’t change his name.
“The only influence (I had on my one son) was to keep his name (because) when he started out, his agent was advising him to change his name to Sheen, and he wouldn’t do it. And I thank God he didn’t.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
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