MARTIN SHEEN

I became a lifelong Martin Sheen fan in 1963 when I saw him in the Outer Limits episode called "Nightmare," one of his very earliest TV appearances. He played one of a stranded team of soldiers who are captured and experimented on by aliens. Don't laugh. The episode was – and still is – scary as hell, and Sheen was excellent in it. 
     In the half-century since, Sheen has done many, many movies including the classic "Apocalypse Now" (during the filming of which he almost died from a heart attack) and TV shows including the ground-breaking West Wing (in which he played the great president of our dreams). Some of his vehicles have been great, others not so much, but Sheen has rarely turned in anything less than a fine performance One of his most recent is "The Way," which I highly recommend.
     A few years ago I saw him in something -- I don’t recall what -- and was moved to write a fan letter. I didn't expect to hear from him, but less than two weeks later I received an autographed photo and a hand-written note telling me how much he'd appreciated my comments, which had included references to several of my favorite Sheen performances. Some publicist may have been written it, of course, but to this day I believe the actor himself did. A friend who once worked with Sheen told me that he's truly the nice guy he appears to be on the screen.