Charlie Sheen’s Meltdown: Father Martin Sheen Says He Felt ‘Powerless’

Martin Sheen is speaking out about his son Charlie Sheen’s meltdown. While the media heavily covered Charlie’s breakdown in 2011, complete with his catch phrases, his father claims that there was a lot going on behind the scenes that in the end, made him feel powerless.

So, what was going on behind the scenes that caused Charlie Sheen’s meltdown? According to Martin Sheen, who sat down with Radio Times, his son was taking steroids.

“What he was going through at that time, we were powerless to do much. Except to pray for him and lift him up. You try to be as present as possible. But you have to be aware of the circumstances. You have to be aware of many things that the public is not aware of.”

At the time he was fired from his CBS show Two and a Half Men, the actor was taking steroids, which led to his bizarre media blitz. He followed televised appearances on Access Hollywood and other entertainment shows with a full fledged stand-up tour called My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option, which showcased Charlie at his worst, and resulted in bizarre speeches to a crowd that just couldn’t look away.

Martin Sheen remembers the time as a desperate situation. “He was in a very desperate situation. And he was doing what he felt would get him out of it — going public. And it was very painful. No less painful for him.”

Although Sheen felt powerless when it came to helping his son, he said that he tried his best just by loving him. “You can assure them you’re there and you love them, but you cannot effect change. That’s your ego, for the most part.”

A year after his public meltdown, Charlie Sheen told Playboy that his meltdown was due to his failed marriages and show business. “I was mad about having to play the game—not that I was playing it well, but I’d been doing it for so long. I finally just said the things I had always been thinking.But in the middle of a psychotic break.”

During that time Charlie said he had the DNA of an Adonis and the blood of a tiger aka tiger blood. A year later and he was at a loss for words. “It wasn’t planned, it was just random, The tiger blood? I don’t know. It’s just a very dangerous animal. And there’s a tiger in ‘Apocalypse Now,’ by the way, so maybe there’s a connection there.”

As for having the DNA of an Adonis he said, “I don’t know what the f**k that was about. That was just stupid. That went a little far.”

[Photo by Vince Bucci / Getty Images]