Charlie Sheen: 1965—: Actor

Even though his life was in turmoil, however, Sheen was still seen in movie after movie, including All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 and Loose Women in 1996, and Money Talks and Mission to Mars in 1997. In 1998 Sheen's substance abuse problem came to a head when he overdosed on drugs. When he was released from the hospital, he checked himself into Promises, a rehab center. He stayed there, however, for only one day before he was out on the street drinking and taking drugs again. The police ordered him to return to Promises. According to the Herald Sun, this happened after "his father … reported his son's drug overdose to a Los Angeles judge and demanded he be 'locked away.'" This seemed to do the trick, because Sheen began cleaning up his act. In 1999 he was seen playing a funny cameo of himself in the movie Being John Malkovich, and he told cast members at the time that he had been sober and clean for a year. About his return from his downward spiral, Sheen told ET Online, "I'm just excited to be back in the game. I don't just mean the entertainment game; I mean the game of life. I'm excited to have been given a second shot … I've never had more fun."

In 2000 Sheen co-starred in the movie Rated X, alongside his brother Emilio Estevez. In the movie they played the real Mitchell brothers, Jim and Artie, who were famous for producing the porn movie Behind the Green Door, a movie that took porn movies into mainstream consciousness. Sheen and his brother had barely spoken in the past ten years while Sheen was ensconced in his rather questionable world of drugs and sex, but now things between the brothers seemed to be improving. Estevez told The Fresno Bee, "The experience of making this picture together probably brought us closer together than we had been in the last 10 years. And we went from sporadically conversing to really talking every day. So I feel like, if nothing else, this movie really brought us closer together and I'm thankful for that." There were some fears that people would compare the lives of the Mitchell brothers with Sheen and Estevez, or that the act of pretending to take drugs would increase Sheen's desire to return to his wilder lifestyle. Sheen told Entertainment Weekly, however, that this was not the case, "I was reminded why I didn't want to live that lifestyle anymore."

In 2000 Sheen was given the opportunity of his newly cleaned up life—he took over as lead on the sitcom Spin City after Michael J. Fox was forced to quit because of his battle with Parkinson's disease. Producers approached him about playing a rather colorful character on the show, and Sheen jumped at the opportunity to, as he told the Herald Sun, "deal with my notoriety head-on." According to Hollywood.com, "While there were naysayers who weren't sure that the intense actor could pull off working in a weekly comedy series, he more than proved them wrong, developing a nice rapport with the cast. Not only did he reinvigorate his own career, but he also rejuvenated the flagging series." He told ET Online about working on the show, "There's such a good camaraderie. It is such a warm and groovy place to work, a lot of laughs, a lot of fun, a lot of freedom.… It's the best working environment I've ever encountered in my 18 years in the business." In 2002 Sheen won a Golden Globe for best actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy.

In 2001 Sheen was seen in the movie Good Advice alongside Angie Harmon and Denise Richards. Richards also appeared on Spin City, guest starring as Sheen's girlfriend. Sheen and Richards had met years before, but it was the Spin City spot that brought them together. In 2002 the two were married. Sheen's future projects include a new CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men, with Jon Cryer and Blythe Danner, scheduled to begin airing in the fall of 2003. Sheen has returned to Hollywood like the prodigal son and has managed to retain his bank of supporters and fans. Sheen told the Sunday Herald Sun that he had always kept faith that Hollywood would forgive him, despite his temporary ban from the A-list. "It's a hard place, but it's a company town. If you work hard and get the ratings (on TV) they will forgive you almost anything." And things are only looking up from here, with a new wife, a refurbished career, and a Golden Globe under his belt, Sheen should be an exciting person to watch in Hollywood.