Martin Sheen on the divine experience he shared with son Emilio Estevez on set of new film
martin sheen in the way Image 1
AFTER surviving a heart attack during the shooting of Vietnam war movie Apocalypse Now in the Philippines, Martin Sheen knows that miracles can happen.
And now, after making their latest film together, his son Emilio Estevez, of St Elmo's Fire and Young Guns fame, is also a believer.
The father and son teamed up on screen for the fourth time in their careers for the emotional story The Way.
It's about a grieving father completing his dead son's 500-mile trek along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela - a pilgrimage across the Pyrenees walked by thousands each year.
The two Hollywood stars were amazed by a series of seemingly miraculous events which occurred during filming in the Galicia region of Spain.
"I believe in miracles a lot more now," says 48-year-old Estevez, who also wrote and directed The Way. "And I have taken the word 'coincidence' out of my vocabulary. I believe that there is divine intervention.
"Miracles happened on a daily basis and it got to the point where the crew were true believers too. If they didn't have any spirituality going into this, they did have by the end.
"Lives changed on this film. My son Taylor met his wife on the Camino and they now live in Burgos, in northern Spain.
"Other relationships were also forged by crew members. One said she met the man of her dreams there and got married.
"Also, it only rained twice in a 40-day period in an area famous for getting rain almost every day. It was definitely providential."
But the most miraculous occurrence was being granted permission to film a crucial sequence inside the ancient cathedral of Santiago de Compostela - the ancient church reputed to be the burial place of St James, one of Jesus's apostles.
Initially, church authorities indicated that no filming could be done inside the cathedral - and it turned out that Brazilian World Cup star striker Ronaldinho was to blame.
A few years ago, Ronaldinho was making a TV commercial outside the cathedral and accidentally kicked a ball against a 300-year-old stained glass window and shattered it.
"After that, they decided no other film crews would get access," said Estevez.
"I was rewriting the script to use another church but the entire crew prayed that they might change their mind.
"Just 48 hours before arriving in Santiago, we were granted permission to go into the cathedral and shoot the scene."
Sheen smiles at the memory of that magical moment.
"You begin to understand that all our lives really are miracles," he said.
The 70-year-old star - who starred as John F Kennedy in the Kennedy TV miniseries and as fictional US President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing - added that making The Way was a dream come true.
The veteran actor was born Ramon Gerardo Antonio Estevez and his paternal roots are in the Galician region.
"My father, Francisco, was from Galicia and I grew up hearing about this mysterious place Santiago de Compostela," he said.
"As I got involved in my career and raising a family, I almost forgot about it.
"Then, in the summer of 2003, I focused on going to Santiago because I desperately wanted to walk the Camino."
The loss of a loved one also played a vital part in Sheen returning to his roots.
"My brother Alphonso, who I grew up with, died. I adored him and we were called 'The Irish twins'," he said.
"He was a year-and-a-half ahead of me in school and had prepared the way for me. There were 10 children in our family and when Alphonso died, there were only six left.
"A few years ago, I said to them all, 'Enough funerals. Let's gather in Ireland on May 26, 2003, in County Tipperary where our mother was born 100 years to the day.'
"So we met and had a great celebration. We had a Mass in the church where my grandfather had done the roofing. He was a master slater and is buried in a nearby graveyard.
"Then I invited everyone to go on the Camino with me - and two people showed up.
"They were my oldest friend, Matt Clarke, who plays the part of a priest in the film, and Emilio's son Taylor, who was 19 at the time."
On the trip to northern Spain, Sheen discovered he didn't have enough time to walk the Camino, as it normally takes between four and six weeks.
He said: "I only had three weeks' holiday left before starting back on The West Wing, so I thought about doing the journey on horseback or by bicycle - which many pilgrims do. But neither way worked out, so we rented a car and drove it."
As a result of that trip, Sheen became passionate about making a movie and suggested it to Emilio, who began working on a script.
"He wrote the part for me," says the proud father. "If this had been a big Hollywood studio film, it's unlikely I would have got the role. There are so many big stars who would have wanted a part like this, so when Emilio handed me this role, it was a great gift.
"Making The Way was one of the great experiences I've had. Emilio is such a dear man. He's the only director I've ever worked with who says, 'Action, please, and cut, please, thank you.' He is so polite - actors adore him."
But it's a mutual appreciation society as Estevez adores his dad.
"I consider it a privilege and an honour to work with my father," he said.
"For every great film like Badlands or Apocalypse Now he made, there were 20 bad movies - because he had a family to feed.
"For me to be able to work with him was an opportunity to say I know the sacrifices he made as a father and an actor. This was my way of paying him back."
Sheen and his wife, Jean, have four children - Emilio, Ramon, Renee and the notorious Charlie, whose battles with his own personal demons have been grabbing headlines recently.
Sheen has had his own fights with addiction but has been sober for more than 20 years.
He is passionate about his family, so the scene in the film where he identifies his dead son in a foreign morgue was particularly emotional for him.
He said: "It's a stunning moment. Emilio chose to be in the body bag and I didn't know he was going to be there, so that is what I'm reacting to.
"It's every parent's worst fear that you will bury a child. How do you cope with that?
"That is our whole story - it's a fatherand-son journey. The father begins thinking he's completing the journey for his son and gradually realises he's doing it for himself. He realises that he hasn't opened up his heart to the world."
The Way is released on May 13. (In Europe release date is September for North America)
