Martin Sheen ‘regrets’ changing name for career

Actors and actresses changing their names is fairly common in the entertainment industry, but at least one star wishes he hadn’t.

Martin Sheen, born and still legally Ramon Estévez, said he “regrets” changing his name.

“That’s one of my regrets. I never changed my name officially,” he said in an interview with Closer Weekly. “It’s still Ramon Estévez on my birth certificate.”

Sheen, who is Irish and Spanish, was born in Galicia in northwest Spain.

Like his son Emilio, he’s Estévez on other official documents as well, like his passport and marriage license.

“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,” Sheen, 81, said. “But, of course, I’m only speaking for myself.”

Fortunately, in his opinion, he was able to convince one of his sons to not adopt a stage name.

“The only influence I had on Emilio was to keep his name,” he said. “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.”

Sheen’s other son, actor Charlie Sheen, also changed his name early in his career from Carlos.