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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the American actor. For the soccer player, see Emilio Estevez (footballer).

Emilio Estevez
Estevez in 2011
Born	May 12, 1962 (age 63) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor filmmaker
Years active	1973–present
Spouse	Paula Abdul(m. 1992; div. 1994)
Children	2
Parents	Martin Sheen (father)Janet Templeton (mother)
Relatives	Ramon Estevez (brother)Charlie Sheen (brother)Renée Estevez (sister)Joe Estevez (paternal uncle)
Family	Estevez

Emilio Estevez (/ɛˈmɪlioʊ ɛˈstəvɛs/; born May 12, 1962) is an American actor and filmmaker. The son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen, he made his film debut with an uncredited role in Badlands (1973). He later received his first credited appearance with a supporting role in the coming-of-age film Tex (1982).

Estevez gained mainstream recognition with a starring role in the drama film The Outsiders (1983), leading him to be associated with a group of young actors known as the “Brat Pack.” After starring in the films Nightmares (1983) and Repo Man (1984), Estevez had his breakout with starring roles in the commercially successful Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club (1985) and St. Elmo’s Fire (1985). Following his breakout, he starred in the films Maximum Overdrive (1986), Stakeout (1987), Young Guns (1988), and Young Guns II (1990). In the 1990s, Estevez played the lead role of Gordon Bombay in the film series The Mighty Ducks (1992–1996). He also starred in the films Freejack (1992), Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), Another Stakeout (1993), and Judgment Night (1993).

Estevez made his directorial debut with the crime film Wisdom (1986), which he also starred in. He later directed and starred in the films Men at Work (1990) and The War at Home (1996), and following the final film in the Mighty Ducks series, Estevez primarily focused on directorial work. He directed and starred in the drama film Bobby (2006), which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, and also earned Estevez a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. He also directed and starred in the films The Way (2010) and The Public (2018).

Outside of directing in recent years, Estevez had a starring voice role in the English dub of the fantasy film Arthur and the Invisibles (2006) and reprised his role as Gordan Bombay in a regular capacity on the Disney+ television series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (2021–2022).

Early life

Estevez was born in Staten Island, the eldest child of artist Janet Sheen and actor Martin Sheen (legally Ramón Estévez). His siblings are Ramon Estevez, Charlie Sheen (born Carlos Estévez), and Renée Estevez. Estevez’s paternal grandparents were Irish and Spanish immigrants. His father is a “devout Catholic” and his mother is a “strict Southern Baptist“.^[1]

Estevez initially attended school in the New York City public school system but transferred to a private academy once his father’s career took off. He lived on Manhattan’s Upper West Side until his family moved west in 1968 when his father was cast in Catch-22. Growing up in Malibu, California, Estevez attended Santa Monica High School.

When Estevez was 11 years old, his father bought the family a portable movie camera.^[2] Estevez also appeared in Meet Mr. Bomb, a short anti-nuclear power film produced at his high school.^[3] Estevez was 14 when he accompanied his father to the Philippines, where Sheen was shooting Apocalypse Now.^[2] Estevez had a role as an extra in Apocalypse Now, but his scenes were deleted.^[4]

When they returned to Los Angeles, Estevez co-wrote and starred in a high school play about Vietnam veterans called Echoes of an Era and invited his parents to watch it. Sheen recalls being astonished by his son’s performance, and “began to realize: my God, he’s one of us.”^[5] After graduating from Santa Monica High School in 1980, he refused to go to college and instead went into acting.^[2] Unlike his brother Charlie, Estevez and his other siblings did not adopt their father’s stage name. Emilio reportedly liked the alliteration of the double ‘E’ initials,^[6] and “didn’t want to ride into the business as ‘Martin Sheen’s son’.”^[2] Upon his brother’s using his birth name Carlos Estevez for the film Machete Kills, Estevez mentioned that he was proud of his Spanish heritage and was glad that he never adopted a stage name, taking advice from his father who regretted adopting the name Martin Sheen as opposed to using his birth name, Ramón Estévez.^[7]

Career

His first role was in a drama produced by the Catholic Paulist order. Soon after, he made his stage debut with his father in Mister Roberts at Burt Reynolds‘ dinner theater in Jupiter, Florida (this was the only job his father ever placed him in). Later, father and son worked together in the 1982 ABC-TV film about juveniles in jail, In the Custody of Strangers, in which Estevez did the casting.^[2]

Brat Pack years

Estevez received much attention during the 1980s for being a member of the Brat Pack and was credited as the leader of the group of young actors.^[8] One of his first major roles was as Keith “Two-Bit” Mathews in Francis Ford Coppola‘s 1983 cinematic adaptation of S. E. Hinton‘s novel, The Outsiders, where he shared the screen with an ensemble cast that included Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Leif Garrett, C. Thomas Howell, Diane Lane, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio, and Patrick Swayze.^[9] Besides his roles in In the Custody of Strangers and The Outsiders, his credits include NBC-TV‘s thrillers Nightmares and Tex, the 1982 film version of another S.E. Hinton story. He bought the movie rights to a third Hinton book, That Was Then, This Is Now, and wrote the screenplay. His father predicted he would have to direct to feel the full extent of his talents, describing him as “an officer, not a soldier.”^[2]

After The Outsiders, Estevez appeared as the punk-rocker turned car-repossessor Otto Maddox in the film Repo Man before co-starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire. Following the success of these back-to-back Brat Pack films, he starred in That Was Then, This Is Now (which he co-wrote), the horror film Maximum Overdrive (for which he was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award), and the crime drama Wisdom (with fellow Brat Packer Demi Moore). Estevez was originally cast in Platoon to be Private Chris Taylor but was forced to drop out after production was delayed for two years; the role eventually went to his younger brother Charlie Sheen.^[10] He went on to lead roles in the comedy/action film Stakeout and the westerns Young Guns^[11] and Young Guns II.

1990–present

In the early 1990s, Estevez directed, wrote, and starred with his brother Charlie in a comedy about garbagemen, Men at Work. Estevez later stated, “People come up to me on the street and say, Men at Work is the funniest movie I ever saw in my life. But, you know, I do have to question how many movies these people have seen.”^[4]

In 1992, he found the career longevity that escaped other Brat Packers by starring in The Mighty Ducks as Coach Gordon Bombay,^[10] a lawyer and former pee wee star and minor hockey prodigy looking to forget the past, forced into coaching a pee wee hockey team as a form of community service. The film turned out to be one of Disney‘s most successful franchises. It was followed by two sequels.^[10] The following year Estevez starred in three films: the dark thriller Judgment Night, the spoof comedy Loaded Weapon 1 in which his brother Charlie Sheen has a cameo, and comedy/action film Another Stakeout, which was the sequel to his earlier film Stakeout.

Estevez has acted alongside his father several times. He starred in (and directed) the 1996 The War at Home in which he played a Vietnam War veteran dealing with posttraumatic stress disorder, while Martin Sheen played his unsympathetic father.^[5]

Estevez appeared in an uncredited role in the feature film Mission: Impossible. From 1998 to 1999, he appeared in three television films: the spaghetti Western Dollar for the Dead (1998), the comedy Late Last Night (1999), and Rated X (2000), which he directed. In 2000, Estevez starred in the Moxie! Award-winning thriller Sand as part of an ensemble cast that also included Denis Leary, Jon Lovitz, Harry Dean Stanton, and Julie Delpy.

In 2003, he made his voice acting debut when he helped create the English dubbed version of The 3 Wise Men with his father. Later, Estevez starred in The L.A. Riot Spectacular and voiced the English version of the film Arthur and the Invisibles. In 2008, he guest-starred on his brother’s sitcom Two and a Half Men as an old friend of Charlie Sheen’s character. (His father Martin Sheen had also guest-starred in 2005.)^[12]

In an interview a month after the 2010 Oscar tribute to John Hughes he explained his absence as publicity shyness: “I’ve never been a guy that went out there to get publicity on myself. I never saw the value in it.”^[13]

In 2017, his appearance in films was found to generate the highest return on investment (ROI) on average of all Hollywood actors.^[14]

Estevez reprised his role as Coach Gordon Bombay in the 2021 Disney+ TV series, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.^[15] It was reported in November 2021 that Estevez would not return in the show’s second season due to a contract dispute and creative differences.^[16]

Directing career

Aside from acting, Estevez has also directed television shows and motion pictures. He made his directorial debut with the 1986 film Wisdom, which made Estevez the youngest actor ever to write, direct, and star in a single major motion picture. Most recently he has directed episodes of the television series Cold Case, Close to Home, The Guardian, CSI: NY, and Numb3rs. The films he has directed include Men at Work and The War at Home.^[5]

He directed the 2006 film Bobby, which took over six years to write. Producing the film nearly bankrupted him as the domestic box office gross was not able to cover production costs.^[10] The movie gained him fans outside the US, mainly in Europe.^[17] He won a Hollywood Film Award and received a seven-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.^[13]

In 2010, Estevez filmed a new project, The Way, in Spain where he directed his father in a story about a man who decides to make the Camino de Santiago after the death of his son in the French Pyrénées. It was released in the United States on October 7, 2011.^[6]^[18]

In 2018, Estevez released The Public, a film featuring Estevez himself as writer, director, and cast member. The film, also starring Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater, and Jena Malone, premiered worldwide at the Toronto International Film Festival.^[19] ^[20]

Music videos

Estevez appeared in John Parr’s “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” music video, from the soundtrack of his film with the same name, where he played Kirby Keger. The music video featured all seven of the main cast members of the film, looking sadly through the foggy windows of a run-down and fire-damaged version of the St. Elmo’s Bar set.

Estevez is a close friend of Jon Bon Jovi.^[21] He appeared in Bon Jovi’s music video “Blaze of Glory” as Billy the Kid. In turn, Bon Jovi made a cameo appearance in Young Guns II. “Blaze of Glory” was in the Young Guns II soundtrack and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2000, Estevez made an appearance in another Bon Jovi video, “Say It Isn’t So“, along with Matt LeBlanc, Claudia Schiffer, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

In the early 1980s, Estevez dated actress Mimi Rogers.^[22] He was involved off and on with Carey Salley, a Wilhelmina model.^[2] They have a son and a daughter. Their relationship overlapped with Estevez’s high-profile engagement to Demi Moore, with whom he was intermittently involved from 1984 to 1986.^[23]^[24] In 1986, Salley filed a $2 million paternity suit against Estevez.^[25] Estevez acknowledged paternity of Salley’s children on June 1, 1987.^[26]

On April 29, 1992, Estevez married singer-choreographer Paula Abdul. They filed for divorce in May 1994. Abdul later stated that the reason for the divorce was that she wanted children, while Estevez–who already had two children–did not.^[27]

In 2011, Estevez stated that his religion was a “work in progress”.^[1] In 2023, he said, “Film is an illusion, fame is ephemeral, faith and family are what will endure”.^[28]

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1973	Badlands	Boy Under Lamppost	Uncredited role
1979	Apocalypse Now	Messenger Boy	Scenes deleted^[4]
1982	Tex	Johnny Collins
1983	The Outsiders	Keith “Two-Bit” Mathews
1983	Nightmares	J.J. Cooney	Segment: The Bishop of Battle
1984	Repo Man	Otto Maddox
1985	The Breakfast Club	Andrew Clark
	St. Elmo’s Fire	Kirby “Kirbo” Keger
	That Was Then… This Is Now	Mark Jennings	Also writer
1986	Maximum Overdrive	Bill Robinson
1986	Wisdom	John Wisdom	Also director and writer
1987	Stakeout	Det. Bill Reimers
1988	Young Guns	Billy the Kid
1989	Never on Tuesday	Tow Truck Driver	Cameo role
1990	Young Guns II	Billy the Kid
1990	Men at Work	James St. James	Also director and writer
1992	Freejack	Alex Furlong
1992	The Mighty Ducks	Gordon Bombay
1993	Loaded Weapon 1	Sgt. Jack Colt
	Another Stakeout	Det. Bill Reimers
	Judgment Night	Francis Howard “Frank” Wyatt
1994	D2: The Mighty Ducks	Gordon Bombay
1995	The Jerky Boys: The Movie	—	Executive producer
1996	Mission: Impossible	Jack Harmon	Uncredited role
	The War at Home	Jeremy Collier	Also director and producer
	D3: The Mighty Ducks	Gordon Bombay
2000	Sand	Trip
2003	The 3 Wise Men	Belial	Uncredited voice role; English dub
2005	The L.A. Riot Spectacular	Laurence Powell
2005	Culture Clash in AmeriCCa	—	Director; Documentary
2006	Arthur and the Minimoys	Ferryman	Voice role; English dub
2006	Bobby	Tim Fallon	Also director and writer
2010	The Way	Daniel Avery	Also director, producer, and writer
2012	Dear Dracula	Myro	Voice role
2012	A Monster Christmas	Mr. Winterbottom	Voice role
2018	The Public	Stuart Goodson	Also director and writer
2024	Brats	Himself	Documentary

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980-1982	Insight	Young Man / Pat / Stan / Steve Novak	4 episodes
1982	Making the Grade	Dwayne	Episode: “Guess Who’s Coming to Class?”
1982	In the Custody of Strangers	Danny Caldwell	ABC television film
1987	Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville	Himself / Vietnam soldier	Television film/television special documentary
1989	Nightbreaker	Dr. Alexander Brown (Past)	TNT television film
1994	Saturday Night Live	Host	Episode: Emilio Estevez/Pearl Jam
1994	The Legend of Billy the Kid	Himself	Interview from the set of Young Guns II
1998	Dollar for the Dead	Cowboy	TNT television film
1999	Late Last Night	Dan	Television film
2000	Rated X	James Lowell “Jim” Mitchell	Showtime television film; Also director
2001	Jon Bon Jovi	Himself / Interviewee	Television special
2002	After Dark: South Beach	Narrator	Television special
2003	The West Wing	Young Josiah “Jed” Bartlet	Episode: Twenty Five; Cameo role
2003–2004	The Guardian	—	Director; 3 episodes
2004–2005	Cold Case	—	Director; 2 episodes
2005	CSI: NY	—	Director; 2 episodes
	Close to Home	—	Director; Episode: Baseball Murder
	Criminal Minds^[29]	—	Director
2008	Numb3rs	—	Director; 2 episodes
2008	Two and a Half Men	Andrew “Andy” Donald Patterson	Episode: The Devil’s Lube
2021–2022	The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers	Gordon Bombay	Main role (season 1)

Awards and nominations

Totals^[a]

Awards and nominations
Wins	2
Nominations	14
Note

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
1986	Maximum Overdrive	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Actor	Nominated
1989	Young Guns	Western Heritage Awards	Bronze Wrangler – Theatrical Motion Picture	Won
1998	The War at Home	ALMA Awards	Outstanding Latino Director of a Feature Film	Nominated
1998	The War at Home	ALMA Awards	Outstanding Individual Performance in a Crossover Role in a Feature Film	Nominated
2006	Bobby	Venice Film Festival	Golden Lion – Best Film	Nominated
2006		Venice Film Festival	Biografilm Award	Won
2006		Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cast	Nominated
2006		Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2006		ALMA Awards	Outstanding Director – Motion Picture	Nominated
			Outstanding Motion Picture
			Outstanding Screenplay – Motion Picture
2012	Emilio Estevez	Shorty Awards	Best Actor	Nominated
2012	Emilio Estevez	Shorty Awards	Best Director	Nominated

References

Drake, Tim (September 14, 2011). “Emilio Estévez and Martin Sheen Talk of Faith”. NCRegister.com. National Catholic Register. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
Buchalter, Gail (February 28, 1983). “Emilio Estevez acts up, and no one’s prouder than his father, Martin Sheen”. People. Time Inc. Archived from the original on March 31, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
Emilio Estevez at Hollywood.com
Biography for Emilio Estevez at IMDb
McLean, Craig (March 21, 2011). “The Way: interview with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez”. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
Ramirez, Erika (February 28, 2011). “The True Identity of Charlie Sheen: Tracing The Roots of The Estevez Family”. Latina magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
Adios Charlie Sheen, hello Carlos Estevez, CNN.com, June 6, 2013.
Blum, David (June 10, 1985). “Hollywood’s Brat Pack”. New York: 40–47.
Fremont, Maggie (March 25, 2025). “The Outsiders cast: See the actors over 40 years after the film made them mega-stars”. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
Kiebus, Matt (March 1, 2011). “What About Emilio?”. deathandtaxesmag. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
“Interviews with the Cast of Young Guns (1988)”. Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
Mitovich, Matt (November 6, 2008). “Two Brothers to Team on Two and a Half Men“. TV Guide. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
Dwyer, Fr Dave (April 7, 2010). “Emilio Estevez and The Way”. Busted Halo. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
“What Makes A Hollywood Hit”. Party Casino. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
Andreeva, Nellie (February 13, 2020). “‘The Mighty Ducks’: Emilio Estevez To Reprise Role As Coach Gordon Bombay In Disney+ Sequel Series”. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
Andreeva, Nellie (November 8, 2021). “Emilio Estevez Speaks Out About His ‘Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Exit, Reveals Long-Haul Covid”. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
Clint, Caffeinated (July 29, 2011). “Congrats to Emilio Estevez; The Way lands distribution”. Moviehole. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
Siedlecka, Jo (February 24, 2011). “A father and son project: Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez discuss The Way”. Independent Catholic News. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
Orlova-Alvarez, Tamara; Alvarez, Joe (September 10, 2018). “Alec Baldwin ‘The Public’ Film Premiere at Toronto Film Festival 2018”. Ikon London Magazine. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
Orlova-Alvarez, Tamara; Alvarez, Joe (September 27, 2018). “Emilio Estevez on Homelessness at the Toronto Premiere of The Public”. Ikon London Magazine. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
Jackson, Laura (2005). Jon Bon Jovi. Citadel. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-8065-2600-3.
“Companions for Emilio Estevez”. Turner Classic Movies.
Goodall, Nigel (2000). Demi Moore: The Most Powerful Woman in Hollywood. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781849894852.
Fleeman, Michael. “Emilio Estevez the History Boy”.
Trott, William C. (October 16, 1986). “Question of Paternity”. United Press International.
“Estevez v. Superior Court (Salley) (1994)”. Justia Law.
Sauter, Michael (April 24, 1998). “Paula Abdul and Emilio Estevez together forever?”. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
“Missed the rerelease of Emilio Estevez’s ‘The Way’? There’s still a chance to see it”. catholicnewsagency.com. May 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
“Movies: Filmography for Emilio Estevez”. Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on February 24, 2008.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emilio Estevez.

Emilio Estevez at IMDb
Emilio Estevez on Instagram

Awards and achievements
Bronze Wrangler Awards
Preceded byCarroll Ballard for Never Cry Wolf	Bronze Wrangler for Theatrical Motion Picture 1989 for Young Guns	Succeeded byKevin Costner, Jim Wilson & Rodney A. Grant for Dances With Wolves

v t eFilms directed by Emilio Estevez

v t e Brat Pack

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