Martin Sheen’s biggest regret is changing his name from Ramon Estevez

© Provided by Metro Martin Sheen still goes by Ramon Estevez in his personal life (Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Martin Sheen has revealed one of his regrets is adopting a stage name instead of his birth name when he starts this career as an actor.

The 81-year-old, whose real name is Ramon Estévez, admits he wished he hadn’t made the career decision to go by a different name and is still Ramon in his personal life.

He told Closer Weekly: ‘I never changed my name officially. It’s still Ramon Estévez on my birth certificate.

‘It’s on my marriage license, my passport, driver’s 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. But, of course, I’m only speaking for myself.’

Martin is the father of actors Emilio Estevez, 60, and Charlie Sheen, 56, whose real name is Carlos Estevez, and admitted his own father hadn’t wanted him to pursue a career in showbusiness.

The West Wing star revealed the pair had some ‘painful confrontations’ about his career aspirations, with his father wanting him to go to college and improve his chances of making a better living than his parents had.

1/5 SLIDES © Provided by Metro When I was around 10 years old, I realised that I wasn’t feeling how I was supposed to feel. I was assigned male at birth but the older I got, the more feminine I felt inside and I began to be drawn towards the desire to be a girl and to look like a girl (Picture: Angela Traill) 2/5 SLIDES © Provided by Metro Few would acknowledge such feelings from a young boy growing up in the 1970s. At that time, there were no points of reference for me whatsoever and it all just felt a bit… strange. I didn’t really understand what it meant. So, I just carried on as I was – feeling curious but hoping I’d just be able to shake it off (Picture: Angela Traill) 3/5 SLIDES © Provided by Metro I’m 58 now and came out as a transgender woman in 2019, at the age of 55. Looking back, I now know that the way I was feeling was typical of people with gender dysphoria but, at that time, I had never even heard of that. I didn’t even know that such a thing existed. I had no idea if anyone else felt like this and, as a result, I felt completely alone (Picture: Angela Traill) 4/5 SLIDES © Provided by Metro By the time I die, the biggest portion of my life will have been as a male – or at least presenting as male, rather than a female, my true self. But, as hard as it’s been, I’m so glad that I’m finally making steps to live with myself, as myself and, for a change, quite liking myself too (Picture: Angela Traill) Slideshow continues on the next slide © Provided by Metro Martin convinced his eldest son Emilio Estevez (right) to keep his name, while his other son (left) goes by Charlie Sheen (Picture: Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Martin added: ‘He finally saw that I was committed and realised it would be a life and death struggle with me if I didn’t pursue it.

‘When I got ready to go, he blessed me, and he continued to bless me the rest of his life. I adored him.’

When it came to his own children, Martin says he didn’t try and put Charlie and Emilio off following in his footsteps but admitted he was ‘so self-involved and trying to be a provider’ that he ‘wasn’t aware’ that they wanted to act.

He explained: ‘I was doing a show one time, and Emilio showed up. I thought he was there to visit me, but he’d gotten a part in the same show.

‘The only influence I had on Emilio was to keep his name. 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.’

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