Martin Sheen: Five Works for Newcomers
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
A master of roles major and minor, both the big screen and small television sets, and numerous generations, Martin Sheen is an acting legend. He is someone that is recognized in an instant, and yet trying to pinpoint his best roles on his eighty-third birthday today feels like a tall order. A couple of performances are easy to select, but rounding out the number to a satisfactory “five” feels difficult. He isn’t defined by his films as much as he is just a constant force in the entertainment industry (lest we forget the success of his sons, or superstar wife Janet, as well). While this took a bit longer than I anticipated to compile, I believe I have a worthwhile list that paints the best picture possible of Martin Sheen’s capabilities; I did cheat a little bit, admittedly, but you will find out shortly enough. I think it is nearly impossible to not be acquainted with this actor by now, but in case you aren’t we have your homework laid out for you. Here are five f̶i̶l̶m̶s̶ works for newcomers to the roles of Martin Sheen.
5. Gandhi
While I am not the biggest fan of this Best Picture winner, Gandhi boasts one of the greatest performances of all time with Ben Kingsley acting as the titular figure. One of the very few supporting parts that keep up to any degree is journalist Vince Walker, played by Sheen. Here Sheen makes this travelling recorder a tabula rasa of any outlier voice, allowing Gandhi to have at least the slightest connection with its audience in a participatory way: as if we ourselves are gazing upon Mahatma Gandhi and unsure of where to start with our findings. His part is small, but Sheen gives Gandhi occasional breaths of fresh air.
4. The Departed
Another supporting role in a Best Picture winner. It feels difficult to not think of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed without remembering Sheen’s Captain Queenan performance. The reason why is that he feels like the most composed person in the entire film (a feature full of backstabbing, informant-snitching, and corruption in the police force). He represents actual order, and in this way, Queenan is an essential allegory in a film this chaotic and frantic. Sheen gives this brief part purpose that will knock you backwards when that moment arrives.
3. The West Wing
I typically try to stick with only films for these lists, but it felt nearly impossible to not consider Sheen’s turn as President Jed Bartlet in The West Wing because of the many political performances before and after that Sheen had (and with the size of this role altogether). It’s a daunting task to watch all 154 episodes of The West Wing, but any Sheen fan owes it to themselves to take on one of his greatest assignments, particularly because the series itself has aged a teensy bit with its kitsch and yet Sheen’s performance has only grown stronger with time.
2. Badlands
A breakthrough film for all parties involved (including director Terrence Malick and co-star Sissy Spacek), Badlands is a singular crime film that is as quaint as it is disturbed. At its centre is a commanding role by Sheen as bad boy Kit who represents anarchy and nihilism through and through. As he and Holly (Spacek) traverse North America and exile themselves during their killing sprees, it’s clear that this is some of the most unhinged, unpredictable storytelling in all of cinema. Sheen would be horrifying if he wasn’t so hypnotic here, and thus began his reign in cinema: an actor that could channel any trope without ever going overboard.
1. Apocalypse Now
This is a no-brainer. The one film that is equally a masterpiece and the finest showcase of Martin Sheen’s talent is Francis Ford Coppola’s war opus Apocalypse Now. Even though he plays a shell-shocked war veteran here as well as in Badlands, he is now tasked with going back to the battlefield as Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now. He grows delirious, soulless, and lethargic as blood is spilled and shots are fired all around him. In one of the coldest performances put to film, Sheen embodies death through and through; the death of self; the death of one’s psyche; the death of one’s moral compass; the death of consciousness. You won’t find many war film performances better than Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now: undeniably the best place to start with his filmography.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.