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Charlie Sheen (Charlie Harper, 'Two and a Half Men')

By Josh Bell, About.com

Charlie SheenPhoto courtesy of CBS

Born:

September 3, 1965, in New York City

Marital Status:

Married to real estate investor Brooke Mueller since May 2008. Has two children with his ex-wife, actress Denise Richards.

Early Career:

The son of actor Martin Sheen, Sheen started in small roles as a child, eventually making his mark in the ’80s and ’90s in Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War drama Platoon and capitalist ode Wall Street; the baseball comedy Major League and its sequel; the youth-oriented Western Young Guns; and the action-movie parodies Hot Shots! and Hot Shots! Part Deux. He also co-starred with Clint Eastwood in The Rookie and appeared as part of the ensemble in John Sayles’ acclaimed period drama Eight Men Out, about the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal.

Movie-Career Decline:

In the mid-to-late ’90s, Sheen’s star waned, and he made appearances in smaller genre films and direct-to-video projects as he struggled with personal problems, including heading to rehab for substance-abuse issues. His name was revealed as one of the clients of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in 1993, which garnered more attention than did many of his movie roles of the period.

'Spin City':

In 2000, Sheen began a career turnaround by replacing Michael J. Fox on ABC’s political sitcom Spin City. When Fox left the show for health reasons, Sheen stepped in to play a new deputy to Barry Bostwick’s mayor of New York City. Spin City went off the air after two more seasons, but it established Sheen’s sitcom chops and strong presence on TV.

'Two and a Half Men':

Thanks in part to his Spin City role, Sheen was cast as the lead in this sitcom about a womanizing bachelor whose life is changed when his brother (Jon Cryer) and nephew (Angus T. Jones) move in with him. Men is one of CBS’s top-rated shows, and Sheen was named by TV Guide as the highest paid star in scripted television, earning $800,000 per episode.

Notable TV & Movie Roles:

Two and a Half Men (2003-present)
Spin City (2000-2002)
Money Talks (1997)
The Arrival (1996)
The Chase (1994)
The Three Musketeers (1993)
Hot Shots! (1991)
The Rookie (1990)
Navy Seals (1990)
Major League (1989)
Young Guns (1988)
Wall Street (1987)
Platoon (1986)
Red Dawn (1984)

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