Charlie Sheen
Born: 3 September 1965
Where: New York, USA
The colourful star is better known for his drug-fuelled indiscretions with hookers and hardliving lifestyle than movies.
However, high profile appearances include Platoon and Jim Abraham's surprisingly successful action spoof Hot Shots!
Born Carlos Estevez, his father Martin Sheen, his brother Emilio Estevez, his first feature role was in the Commie-bashing actioner Red Dawn.
He exploded onto the screen in Oliver Stone's harrowing Platoon, a film similar to his father's Apocalypse Now, in which he appeared as an extra.
The next year, he concreted his status as hot young actor playing a young yuppie mentored by Michael Douglas and led into conflict with his father (Martin Sheen) in Stone's Wall Street.
He proved effective in male ensembles Young Guns and baseball film Eight Men Out, as well as in Major League, Navy S.E.A.L.S and Clint Eastwood's The Rookie.
He has appeared in Wisdom and Men at Work, both co-starring and directed by Emilio.
His turn in surprise hit Hot Shots!, a spoof of Top Gun, led to the inevitable Rambo send-up Hot Shots! Part Deux.
He again worked with Emilio as real-life porn producer brothers Jim and Artie Mitchell in biopic Rated X.
In 2000 he took over from Michael J Fox to star in political sitcom Spin City.
Charlie is as legendary for his off-screen antics as on-screen skills.
After early arrests for marijuana possession and credit card forgery, he failed to graduate from school - where classmates included Sean Penn and Rob Lowe - and lost his university scholarship.
A father by 19, he has a string of broken relationships behind him - including two with porn stars - and a penchant for call girls.
During the investigation into Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss he told the court he had paid £30,000 for sex with her prostitutes over 15 months.
He was married to model Donna Peele for just six months and was charged with battery of girlfriend Brittany Ashland in 1996.
He has battled with drink and drug addictions, drinking two bottles of vodka a day for years. A drug overdose landed him in hospital in 1998 and earned him a subsequent sentencing to a detox clinic.
After eschewing the wild life he married Bond girl Denise Richards in 2002.
Subsequent roles have tended to be confined to B-movies such as Terminal Velocity and No Code of Conduct although he did feature in the art house hit Being John Malkovich.
Recent work includes a featured role in the Signs spoof segment of Scary Movie 3.
Upcoming roles include comedy The Big Bounce with Owen Wilson and Vinnie Jones.
