'The next hit would kill me': Charlie Sheen's stark admission as he turns 60

When Charlie Sheen turns 60 today, he won't be the only one surprised he made the milestone.

After appearing in some of the biggest films of the '80s and '90s, then discovering a comedic streak in hit TV shows throughout the early 2000s, his battle with drugs and alcohol, followed by a HIV diagnosis, derailed his career and left many in Hollywood wondering if he would ever make 60 – Sheen included.

Now, with a memoir and Netflix documentary about his life soon to be released, Sheen is ready to look back on his life, which includes his marriage to Denise Richards.

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Whereas his days were once filled with endless parties and call girls, the Sheen of today is more likely to be found having coffee dates with friends or spending time with his elderly parents or his five children from three relationships.

He told People he liked to stay fit by working out on a rowing machine and his only vice was the occasional anti-inflammatory pill for a bad shoulder.

Of turning 60 he said, "I have more days behind me than in front of me, and that's fine".

The son of Hollywood legend Martin Sheen first showed an interest in acting while a student at Santa Monica High School alongside his older brother Emilio Estevez and friends such as Rob Lowe and Sean Penn.

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He got his break in the '80s in hit films including Red Dawn, Silence of the Heart, Platoon and the mega hit Wall Street.

The '90s saw roles in more films, including The Rookie, before he joined the cast of the TV show Spin City.

This was followed by his best-known role as Charlie Harper in the sitcom Two and a Half Men.

But before long, Sheen was making headlines not for his acting but his drink and drug-fuelled antics.

While he initially used alcohol and cocaine, he later started using crack, which he now says he supplemented with a testosterone cream that caused him to become a 'raving lunatic'.

At the height of his addictions he made wild public statements including during a 2011 interview with the TV show 20/20, in which he declared, "I got tiger blood, man. Dying's for fools, dying's for amateurs".

Now looking back, Sheen can see how close he actually came to dying before he gave up drink and drugs, finally becoming sober in 2017.

He told People he stayed on the right path by keeping a mental checklist of the "worst, most shameful things I've done, and I can look at that in my head if I feel like having a drink".

He is also helped to stay off drugs by reminding himself he could die.

"Whether it's true or not, I like to think the next hit would kill me," he said.

Sheen said he had spent his 50s making amends.

"Most of my 50s were spent apologising to the people I hurt," he told People, adding "forgiveness is still an evolving thing".

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"I still get what I call the 'shame shivers'. These are the moments that hit me, of the heinous memories and choices and consequences," he said.

"They're getting farther in between, so I guess that's progress.

"What has been interesting about making amends is that most people have been like, 'Hey yeah, we're good man, but we hope you've also forgiven yourself'."

That seems to be harder for Sheen, who hasn't ruled out more acting in the future.

He last appeared as himself in three episodes of Bookie.

Before that his last big role was a decade earlier in the sitcom Anger Management.

He is now promoting his memoir, The Book of Sheen, which is available in Australia from September 9, and the Netflix documentary aka Charlie Sheen, which streams from September 10.

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