Martin Sheen: Lights, Camera, Activism

Martin Sheen is a national treasure, as both an acclaimed actor and as a lifelong activist for social justice. In this episode of The Thread, the Emmy-Award winning “acting president” from television’s The West Wing, shares stories from his six-decade career in film and television and describes the struggles of starting out in a profession where his birth name of Ramon Estevez was deemed “too Puerto Rican”. Never afraid to “walk the talk,” Martin Sheen has literally put his body on the line for the causes he believes in; from opposing the death penalty and nuclear power to supporting LGBTQ rights. He details his numerous arrests for civil disobedience, all of which were informed by a deep Catholic faith that taught him to fight injustice not as a choice, but as a duty.