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Charlie Sheen has lived several lives, figuratively speaking. And all of them have been fascinating. Which is why an upcoming Netflix documentary about his life, titled aka Charlie Sheen, has the potential to be incredibly insightful and entertaining.
“With seven hard-fought years of sobriety behind him, Charlie Sheen — as you’ve never seen him — finally leaves it all on the table, and revisits the very public peaks and valleys of his life with humor, heart, and jaw-dropping candor,” the description posted with the trailer for aka Charlie Sheen reads.
There are at least six significant stages in the life of Charlie Sheen, real name Carlos Estevez. First, he grew up as the son of a famous actor, Martin Sheen. Then he broke through as a young actor in his own right in films like Platoon, Wall Street, and Eight Men Out. Having conquered film, he went on to become a sitcom superstar on the shows Spin City and Two and a Half Men. Then came the monumental public meltdown involving him “winning” and claiming to be a “warlock” with “tiger blood” and “Adonis DNA.” Then publicly revealing that he was HIV-positive. And, finally his eventual sobriety.
What can we expect?
All of which could make for a riveting documentary… key word: could. You never know when it comes to Charlie Sheen. That being said, the trailer for aka Charlie Sheen certainly piques one’s interest.
Tabloid black hole Charlie Sheen knows what’s been said about him, and he’s finally ready to confess. Directed by Andrew Renzi (Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?), aka Charlie Sheen tracks his upbringing in Malibu to his effortless rise to megastardom — and dramatic fall, all within the public eye. With a stunning clarity earned through seven years of sobriety, Sheen openly speaks about the subjects and events he’s never discussed publicly before. Through extraordinarily candid interviews with his family, friends, and cast members, including Denise Richards, Heidi Fleiss, Jon Cryer, Sean Penn, Ramon Estevez, Brooke Mueller, Chris Tucker, and his drug dealer Marco, the most outrageous moments of Sheen’s life are revisited with raw emotion and exceptional warmth, painting a portrait of a flawed man whose penchant for self-destruction is ultimately no match for the ferocious love and forgiveness he inspires in those closest to him.
Among the quotes offered by some of those famous names during the trailer were former madame Heidi Fleiss calling Sheen a “a crybaby p—- b—-” and Sean Penn saying, “He started experimenting with, um, everything.”
Then, there is, as Sheen himself says in the trailer, “I lit the fuse, you know, and my life turns into everything it wasn’t supposed to be. … Everything was fine for a while. Nobody got hurt. Nobody got arrested… for a while.”
aka Charlie Sheen premieres Sept. 10 on Netflix.
