10 Things You Didn’t Know About Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen is back in the headlines again, after a video of a friendly drunken encounter between the actor and a fan outside a Taco Bell made its way online. Of course Charlie has never been one to keep a low profile and over the years it seems nearly every aspect of the actor’s life has been reported on. Still, there are a few facts about Charlie that you might not be too familar with.

1. Charlie had famous friends growing up

Charlie attended Santa Monica High School in the early 1980s, while there his friends included future stars Rob Lowe, Robert Downey Jr. and Sean Penn.

2. He was a pretty good baseball player

Charlie showcased his baseball skills in the movie 1989 movie Major League, but before he turned to acting, Sheen actually could have made it as a pro ball player. As a teenager he spent four summers at the Mickey Owen Baseball School. Jerry Nyman, who worked with Sheen at the camp, told ESPN in 2004, "He was a good baseball player, among the best at the school," adding that the actor could have "gone on to make the big leagues.”

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3. He once stayed awake for 48hours

Thought Charlie look tired during his scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Well he must have been, because the actor decided to stay awake for 48 hours before filming. Why? It was all to get that ‘wasted look’ that Charlie thought his "boy in police station" character needed.

4. He gave Winona Ryder her name

In 2012 Charlie claimed he was the one who came up with Winona Horowitz’s now famous stage name. Sheen said he’d been listening to The Doors’s song ‘Riders on the Storm’ with the young actress when he said, “You know, I'm thinking Winona Ryder sounds cool.” Winona agreed and the rest is history although Sheen has since remarked that Ryder’s never given him credit for his great suggestion.

5. He’s published a book of poems

In 1988 Charlie published Peace of My Mind, a collection of poems written by the actor. The book is currently out of print, but ‘a customer’ on Amazon gave it a five star review, calling Sheen’s work, ‘A controversial and humorous look at the world’.

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6. He turned down an ‘Indecent Proposal’.

Yes, of course we’re talking about the 1993 movie starring Demi Moore. Sheen was one of the actors originally offered the part of the hapless husband, but he turned it down and the role eventually went to Woody Harrelson.

7. He once contacted the FBI after watching a movie

In 1991 Sheen was given a copy of Flowers of Flesh and Blood, the seventh instalment of the controversial Japanese Guinea Pig film series. Charlie and his friends were horrified by the gruesome scenes depicted on screen and they mistook it for a genuine ‘snuff film’. Believing the murders onscreen to be real, Sheen reported the movie to the FBI. Of course he was later informed that the film was indeed just a movie after all, albeit a very convincing one.

8. He has quite the tattoo collection

Charlie may have shown off three of his tattoos in that now infamous ‘taco bell’ video, but the actor has plenty more pieces of questionable body art hidden away. A 2009 police report revealed the actor had 10 tattoos including pictures of ‘a burning Marlboro cigarette, a stingray, and a baseball’.

9. He once made movies with Bret Michaels

In the late 90s Charlie and Poison frontman Bret Michaels established a production company together fittingly named Sheen/Michaels Entertainment. The company produced nine movies between 1996 and 1999, but the most interesting looks to be No Code of Conduct, an action flick directed by Michaels and starring Sheen. The two unlikely collaborators also wrote the film’s script together, while Charlie’s father Martin also starred.

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10. Hes a grandad

Imagine having Charlie Sheen as your grandfather? Well last year Charlie officially became the world’s wildest grandad when his eldest daughter Cassandra gave birth to a baby girl named Luna.