Martin Sheen has praised his son Charlie for revealing he has HIV. Photo/Getty
Martin Sheen has praised his son Charlie for revealing he has HIV. Photo/Getty
Martin Sheen couldn't "believe the amount of courage" his son Charlie showed when he revealed he was HIV-positive.
Martin Sheen, 75, is proud of his 50-year-old son announcing in an interview with Today show host Matt Lauer that he's been battling with the debilitating virus for four years as heknew it was the "most difficult thing" he has had to do.
Speaking at the annual CME Group's Global Financial Leadership Conference, Sheen said: "He had been leading up to this sort of story for several months, and we kept encouraging him to do it. He kept backing away and backing away because it was like going to his own execution, I guess.
"This morning, as I watched him alone, reveal his deepest, darkest secret, I couldn't believe the level of courage I was witnessing, and that it was my son.
"I left him a message, and I said that if I had that much courage, I would change the world."
The Naples Daily News reported the actor then asked the audience to view HIV no differently to an illness like cancer or substance abuse.
He explained: "I just want to encourage all of you that have children, spouses, aunts, uncles, clients, that are involved in any form of addiction to realise that it's a disease and if it they had cancer, you wouldn't think of them any differently.
"But most importantly, people, and I speak from my own personal experience, most people who become addicted are looking for a transcendent experience."
