Since the dawn of time, there have been two kinds of people in this world: the mere mortals who live safe, lackluster little lives and then a breed of individuals who go above and beyond that; go-getter individuals who aim for and achieve greatness, ensuring that their names will live on in the history books long after their time here. These individuals are known as legends. Carlos Irwin Estevez, popularly known as Charlie Sheen, easily ranks among the best of 'em.
Whether it can be derived from his hard-partying lifestyle, his unreal reality, or from his overwhelmingly enormous salary demands, Charlie Sheen lives a life that most people couldn’t even begin to dream of. The actor’s daily life reads like an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat movie script – except there is no script. Everything that Charlie Sheen does seems random, spontaneous, and jaw-dropping. And that is why we can’t get enough of him. The man that virtually no one should regard as a role model is, in fact, revered as a role model. He is looked up to as a dorm room idol and a frat house icon. His entire existence has played out like an exercise in what not to do and yet he is beloved by millions. By all accounts, Charlie appears to be, as they call it, the man. As Barney Stinson, confident visionary and amoral wingman of How I Met Your Mother fame would so eloquently proclaim, Charlie Sheen is legen – wait for it… – DARY.
For readers who may not be as familiar with the legend as others, Charlie Sheen is an extremely prolific movie star as well as television star. He has had a role in over 60 major motion pictures. He hails from a family of thespians, being the son of award-winning actor Martin Sheen and the brother of Emilio Estevez (who played Coach Gordon Bombay in The Mighty Ducks film franchise). In movies, Charlie consistently displays his charm, wit, and ability to command whatever scenes he is in, sometimes before even saying a word (like in his small but memorable role in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). He has also on occasion showcased a more serious side in dramatic works such as 1987’s Wall Street. On television, he is the life of the party, known for his laid-back, casual demeanor, confident swagger, and his suspicious penchant for playing characters named “Charlie”.
In spite of his success, however, – or more likely because of it – Charlie has infamously suffered from addictions not only to drugs and alcohol but to women as well. Although I suppose “suffered” probably isn’t the best word to use here seeing as he himself doesn’t see it that way…. At any rate, suffice it to say the man has had problems. Many, many, many problems. But then again, who hasn’t? By now nearly everyone who doesn’t reside under a boulder is well aware that Charlie’s recent life has been less than rosy. Over the past few months, the masses have been served a thick, hearty serving of Charlie Sheenanigans on a nearly daily basis – the increasingly erratic addiction-fueled parties… the mysterious “illnesses”… the domestic abuse… the exotic trips around the world with equally exotic women…. Finally, when it seemed as if good ol' Charlie had run out of ways to shock the public, the epic Two and a Half Men fiasco went down. After executives halted production on the hit show that made Charlie the highest paid actor in television, Charlie went on a media blitzkrieg that produced a treasure trove of instantly classic sound bites. We’ve all heard them: “I got poetry in my fingertips.” “I’m bi-winning!” “That’s how I roll – period. The end. Defeat is not an option.” “Dying’s for fools.” “I won Best Picture at 20; wasn’t even trying.” The list goes on and on. When these interviews began to hit a little too close to home, however, the producers of the highly rated show terminated Charlie Sheen.
This made Charlie an unemployed winner. No matter. Ever eager to make a buck, Charlie and his people created a Twitter account – solely to cash in off celebrity-endorsed tweets – about a week before he was officially fired. He has a family to support, after all. He ended up breaking a world record in the process. Charlie Sheen became the fastest Twitter account to make it to one million followers.He has since used the microblogging site to expound upon the mystical substance he possesses known only as “tiger blood” as well as to give his loyal followers the opportunity to actually work for him. Smoothly making the transition from out of work actor to winning employer in 140 characters or less, Charlie’s legend seems to only snowball by the day.
But why exactly is Charlie Sheen a legend? It’s a question that’s not easily answered. There isn’t one particular quality or attribute he has like, say, Kobe Bryant has that contributes to his overall level of awesomeness. It’s more of a mathematical formula, a unique combination of characteristics that make Charlie, Charlie. It’s much easier to identity the traits that do not contribute to his lofty stature. It is not, for example, his infamous drug use. That is so vitally important that it bears declaring twice: drugs are not the reason that Charlie Sheen is Charlie Sheen. Even he has said it. When asked in a recent interview with ABC if he his was better without drugs, the star announced without hesitation, “It’s not better, it’s perfect”. Drugs do not factor into Charlie’s coolness factor. In fact, they actually cause his to lose major points. If Charlie Sheen had overdosed and died on one of the many, many times that that was a possibility, I wouldn’t be here today writing about how awesome he is. I’d be writing about how stupid he was – if I even bothered to write about him at all.
His acts of violence toward his various domestic partners also cost him major points. Violence in general is never the answer but violence towards women is one of the most deplorable acts a man can commit. We all have our low points but that just isn’t redeemable. Violence only leads to more violence and more pain, both internally and externally. It can also lead to prison, as was nearly the case with Charlie in the past.
When it all comes down to it, though, Charlie – the man behind the legend – is who he is I think because he recognizes his mistakes from the past and is trying to move above them. Like a phoenix, he is rising from the ashes and starting things anew. “My first concern is my kids,” he tweeted on March 2, 2011. No matter how he rehabilitated himself, – “I closed my eyes and made it so with the power of my mind….” – the fact that he’s even taking steps to better himself shows a willingness to be a better person and perhaps a better father. He may have a net worth of $85 million and be suing to add another $100 million to that but underneath all the bright lights of superstardom, I believe Charlie Sheen to be your regular down-to-Earth, slightly insane, average Joe. With the exception of suggesting he has innate biological characteristics that no one else has, he doesn’t appear to have a superiority complex, which is so often the case with Hollywood stars. I have no idea how he treats people in his personal life but he comes off as personable as he did in his more-than-coincidentally-biographical role on Two and a Half Men. I get the vibe that you could just walk up to him and start a conversation. He has that realness factor that is so hard to find in entertainers today. That, I think he would say, is the definition of winning.
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