Actor Charlie Sheen and “aka Charlie Sheen” director Andrew Renzi are reflecting on the actor’s life following the much-discussed Netflix documentary. In a new interview, Sheen explained that being sober allowed him to participate honestly in the project and revisit some difficult topics, such as his past drug use and public scandals. Sheen also praised Renzi’s approach, saying he felt the documentary focused on understanding him as a person rather than exploiting his past controversies.
The “Two and a Half Men” star and “aka Charlie Sheen” director, Andrew Renzi, recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter in order to discuss some of the topics explored in the tell-all documentary.
Renzi said that part of his job was to “figure out what the realities of this fever dream of a life really were,” as some of the stories out there about Sheen might have been exaggerated over time.
To help get a clearer picture of the actor, he went back to archival footage, including films from Sheen’s childhood, that featured his brother Emilio Estevez and friends like actors Sean and Chris Penn.
Andrew Renzi Jokes About Sheen’s ‘Virgo Brain’
Renzi also praised Sheen’s incredible memory, joking that he had a “Virgo brain.”
“Charlie’s recall is unlike anything I could ever imagine,” Renzi said, while even Sheen added that his memories “shouldn’t be intact and available” after his past drug use.
“There’s another version of this movie that I think about frequently, where we get to spend an hour and a half in the ’70s and ’80s with the Super 8 films before [Sheen] even makes a movie. One where Chris Penn becomes a main character. I fell in love with that stuff,” Renzi said. “The realities of where [Sheen’s] story got to made it hard to spend that much time on that. So, we had to figure that balance out.”
Charlie Sheen Seemed Resistant To Questions About His Health
The THR reporter described Sheen as “a bit annoyed” over comments about his health, noting that, “I think my presence answers those questions.” He also seemed equally dismissive about questions concerning his finances, replying, “Would you ask me that question at a dinner party in front of my parents?”
Fortunately, Sheen’s first meeting with Renzi went a lot more smoothly. Sheen revealed that there has been substantial interest in making a documentary about his life, but Renzi was the only one to whom he granted an in-person meeting to pitch it.
“I had been approached a couple times, but it never actually got to an in-person meeting,” Sheen recalled. “It was just a couple of phone calls, or I’d read a pitch breakdown for how somebody thought they should document my history, and none of that spoke to me at all.”
However, when it came to Renzi, Sheen said, “I saw a guy that wasn’t interested in a lot of the [tabloid] crap,” adding, “I saw a guy that wasn’t there to exploit anything, that was there to celebrate the cool sh-t and to be sensitive — but honest and thorough — with the not-so-cool sh-t.”
Sheen Pushed To Have ‘Some Space’ Between The Documentary And His Memoir
“aka Charlie Sheen” premiered on Netflix on September 10. One day prior, his autobiography, “The Book of Sheen: A Memoir,” was published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Sheen admitted that he had pushed for “some space” between the release of his memoir and his documentary, but was granted only 24 hours.
“Netflix spent all this money to acquire this awesome project,” he said, noting that it was a business decision. Although the book came first, there was a concern that the documentary “harmed” book sales. However, the memoir still became a New York Times bestseller, and Sheen claims that the memoir’s audiobook, which he narrated himself, outsold the memoir 3-to-1.
Sheen’s Brother and Father Declined To Participate In The Netflix Doc
Although Renzi tried, both Sheen’s brother Emilio and their father, Martin Sheen, declined to participate in the documentary. Renzi even showed them a rough cut of “Part One” to show them the quality of the Netflix special, but to no avail.
“Dad had such a specific reaction to it. He said, ‘You don’t need me,’” Charlie recalled. “ ‘You don’t need the me of today. You’ve got the really interesting, handsome me. That’s how I want to be in the doc.’”
That being said, “One Battle After Another” Oscar winner Sean Penn did appear in the documentary. Renzi said Penn served as his “anchor” and also provided his favorite piece of feedback on the whole documentary.
“Sean Penn sent me a text and said, ‘You have made something that I have never seen before,’” Renzi recalled. “‘It’s as unique and one-of-a-kind as Charlie Sheen is.’”