Charlie Sheen — Actor known for Platoon, Wall Street, and Two and a Half Men, and son of Martin Sheen. Now nearly eight years sober and promoting his memoir 'The Book of Sheen' and a Netflix documentary.
The gist
Charlie Sheen sits down with Joe Rogan for a wide-ranging, candid conversation timed to the release of his memoir and documentary. He revisits his public meltdown, the 'Tiger Blood' interview, two divorces and four kids during an eight-year run, and how testosterone cream plus cocaine fueled his rage. He explains getting sober after a moment with his daughter, his break from AA, and managing HIV with a newer medication. The talk also dives deep into JFK assassination theories, the CIA-Manson 'Chaos' connection, and the on-set world of Apocalypse Now and Platoon. The episode is interrupted by breaking news that Charlie Kirk had been shot, prompting a somber discussion of political violence and media spin.
Big reveals
- Sheen reveals he was using testosterone cream like 'a Ponds commercial' combined with cocaine, fueling his rage.
- Frames his decade-long career exile not as a comeback but a 'reset' enabling his book and documentary.
- Says drinking, not cocaine or heroin, became 'the most unmanageable drug' he ever tried to navigate.
- Pinpoints his sobriety turning point: his 13-year-old daughter watching him unable to drive her to a hair appointment.
- Reveals he has had HIV for years and switched to a newer, less toxic medication he can't drink on.
- Explains the infamous 'Tiger Blood / Adonis DNA' lines came from a pep talk with Giants pitcher Brian Wilson.
- Admits the high from his first time smoking crack 'hasn't been topped.'
- Episode interrupted by breaking news that Charlie Kirk had been shot, which he and Rogan condemn.
Things worth remembering
- Sheen reconciled with Chuck Lorre and did a cameo on Lorre's show 'Bookie.'
- The Haight-Ashbury free clinic closed in July 2019, one month after Tom O'Neill's book 'Chaos' came out.
- Rodney Dangerfield sold aluminum siding for years and didn't make it in comedy until his 40s under a name suggested by a club owner.
- As a 10-11 year old, Sheen spent eight to nine months on the Philippines set of his father's film Apocalypse Now.
- Sheen says he was making $54,000 an hour (pre-tax) on Two and a Half Men.
- His first 'My Violent Torpedo of Truth' tour stop in Detroit bombed; he rewrote the entire show on the bus to Chicago and turned it around.
- During the tour someone threw a Canadian loonie from the balcony and hit him in the head, nearly costing him an eye.
- Quincy Jones was producing 'Thriller' and would leave their Bikram yoga class mid-pose to scribble notes at the front desk.
- Sheen says he read 'Chaos' before it became famous and calls it 'one of the best books.'
Recommended in this episode
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The Book of Sheen
Charlie Sheen
“there's not a chance that I could have done the two projects that I've that wow the book came out yesterday and the doc comes out today” — Charlie Sheen 01:18:33Find it on Amazon
HigherDOSE Sauna Blanket
HigherDOSE
“I use a sauna blanket, right? This thing called higher dose. And I'm not sponsored by them. I just bought one and I love it.” — Charlie Sheen 02:45:06Find it on Amazon
Best Evidence
David Lifton
“There's a great book called Best Evidence by David Lifton and he was an accountant and they he had some sort of an assignment involving the Warren Commission report” — Joe Rogan 00:33:38Find it on Amazon
Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties
Tom O'Neill
“I actually read Chaos before it got all the attention. Really? Yeah. friend of mine gave it to me and I was like oh okay this is this is one of the best books” — Charlie Sheen 00:39:48Find it on Amazon
Apocalypse Now (Redux)
Francis Ford Coppola
“When I really got into it was when I got Apocalypse Now Redo, the newly mastered one. It's sensational. Oh my god, it was so good.” — Joe Rogan 01:58:16Find it on Amazon
The Arrival
David Twohy (inferred)
“I was on a mountaintop in Mexico doing a kind of low rent sci-fi film called The Arrival. I love that movie.” — Joe Rogan 01:00:29Find it on Amazon
The Big Bang Theory
Chuck Lorre
“my family binge watched Big Bang Theory. It's a good show. It's a funny show. It's a really well-written show. It's very funny.” — Charlie Sheen 02:04:30Find it on Amazon
Q: Into the Storm
Cullen Hoback (inferred)
“The Qanon documentary on HBO was great. Into the Storm. It's really good. It's a multi-part thing on all the people that were involved in 4chan” — Joe Rogan 01:11:48Find it on Amazon