An emotional Martin Sheen discussed how proud he was of his son Charlie's decision to reveal he is HIV-positive.
'We
didn't know until he walked on the set this morning that he was going
to do it,' said Martin of Charlie's appearance on Today.
'I
saw him Saturday night, my wife and I went to see him, to make sure he
knew we were behind him, and if he wanted me to go, I would have
canceled this event. He said, no, this was his and his alone.'
He
later added; 'This morning, as I watched him alone, reveal his deepest,
darkest secret, I couldn't believe the level of courage I was
witnessing, and that it was my son.'
An emotional Martin Sheen revealed
how proud he was of his son Charlie's decision to go public with his HIV
diagnosis on Tuesday (above)
'I couldn't believe the level of courage I was witnessing, and that it was my son,' said Martin (above with Charlie in 2006)
Naples Daily News
reports that Martin, who was appearing at the eighth annual CME Group's
Global Financial Leadership Conference, also said; 'He had been leading
up to this sort of story for several months, and we kept encouraging
him to do it.
'And he kept backing away and backing away because it was like going to his own execution, I guess.'
Martin went on to call Charlie's admission 'the most difficult thing he'd ever done.'
The
West Wing star then became choked up as he said to those in the
audience; 'As a father, I dare say that if I were to ask, just a general
question in this room, how many of you have children or spouses or
nieces, nephews, uncles, clients, who are dealing with drugs or
alcohol.
'I dare say that there isn't a person in here that wouldn't raise their hand.'
Martin, a recovering alcoholic, has long been vocal about his own battle with addiction.
He said that after watching his son, he called to let him know how proud he was of his decision to go public.
'I
left him a message, and I said that if I had that much courage, I would
change the world. This afternoon, I was still unable to reach him, and I
left another message, that my favorite quote from Robert Kennedy was
fulfilled with him today,' said Martin.
'Robert Kennedy once said, "One heart with courage is a majority."'
Martin was appearing alongside Bob
Schieffer of CBS News and actor Kevin Spacey (above) at the eighth
annual CME Group's Global Financial Leadership Conference.
The Sheen family (l to r: Renee,
Emilio, Charlie, martin and Janet) stands in a line at an afterparty for
the screening of director Robert Greenwald's made-for-TV film 'In the
Custody of Strangers
Martin,
who was appearing alongside Bob Schieffer of CBS News and actor Kevin
Spacey, then said; 'So, I just want to encourage all of you that have
children, spouses, aunts, uncles, clients, that are involved in any form
of addiction to realize that it's a disease.
'And
if it they had cancer, you wouldn't think of them any differently. But
most importantly, people, and I speak from my own personal experience,
most people who become addicted are looking for a transcendent
experience.
'They are looking for one, the other, God, whatever it is, and naturally they shortcut the journey because, the apparition.
'It
belongs to the drug, of course, but the effort to find the
transcendence in our humanity, our brokenness, to accept the brokenness
and to rise with it, without the drug, is what we call recovery.
'And I hope that this day is the first day of the rest of Charlie's life as a free man.'
Martin
has been incredibly involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS for the past
30 years, starring in Larry Kramer's seminal play about the disease The
Normal Heart during its European premiere in 1986 at London's Royal
Court Theatre.
Around the same time, Martin lost his best friend to the disease.
'I held vigil (with him) the last four days of his life,' said Martin at a 1988 AIDS forum according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
He later added; 'I found it hard to forgive myself that I didn't love enough. I vowed that that would never happen again.'
Martin
urged those in attendance at the forum to give money and fo all they
could to help fight the epidemic, closing by saying; 'AIDS is a call for
heroism from all levels of society in a time of great greed and
selfishness. We have to answer the call for an opportunity for love.'
At the same time, the actor also publicly denounced reports that
created hysteria among many by suggesting HIV/AIDS could be passed
through non-sexual contact, calling them 'dangerous and
counterproductive.'
Since
then Martin has appeared at numerous HIV/AIDS fundraisers, including
the 2007 Best in Drag event in Los Angeles alongside Charlie.
That event benefited the California non-profit Aids for AIDS.
In 2010, he helped to raise $1million foir amFAR at Cinema Against AIDS Toronto.
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