Charlie Sheen: 'I Don't Wake Up Feeling Latino' (VIDEO)

Actor Charlie Sheen, born Carlos Irwin Estevez, doesn't feel Latino, he says. In an interview with Univision’s Maria Elena Salinas, he notes that he has an attraction to Latin women and Latin food, but says that his affiliation with Latino culture ends there.

"I'm a white guy in America, you know what I'm saying," Sheen says with some laughter. "I'm not disgraced by it, and I don't run from it. But you know, I was born in New York and grew up in Malibu. That's not very Latino."

Salinas asks Sheen, whose grandfather was Spanish, why then the rest of his family feels affiliated with Hispanic culture and why he decided to changed his name. He responds that he changed his first name to avoid confusion with his uncle who was also named Carlos, and he changed Estevez to “Sheen” when he became an actor.

Some are classifying the interview with one word: awkward. Guanabee, a Latino culture website, notes that Sheen’s tone is dismissive, and Salinas, the Univision host, seems annoyed.

“Charlie, while moving around uncomfortably, tries to play it cool even after making it clear that he doesn't give a shit,” Guanabee writes. “But Maria pushes the bit, making the interview nothing but awkward."

What do you think of the interview?

Loading Slideshow

• Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez

  US actor Martin Sheen (R) arrives with US director Emilio Estevez for the Premiere of their latest film 'The Way' in central London on February 21, 2011. AFP PHOTO / MAX NASH (Photo credit should read MAX NASH/AFP/Getty Images)

• Martin Sheen

  LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 03: Actor Martin Sheen attends the one-night reading of '8' presented by The American Foundation For Equal Rights & Broadway Impact at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre on March 3, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

• 'The Way' Photocall

  MADRID, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 10: Actor Martin Sheen (L) and director Emilio Estevez (R) attend 'The Way' photocall at the Ritz Hotel on November 10, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

• Emilio Estevez

  CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 19: Emilio Estevez attends the Career Achievement Award ceremony honoring Martin Sheen during the 47th Chicago International film festival at the AMC River East Theater on August 19, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images)

• Premiere Of "8"

  LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 03: Actors Martin Sheen (L) and Ramon Estevez arrive at the premiere of '8' presented by The American Foundation For Equal Rights & Broadway Impact at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre on March 3, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

• Charlie Sheen

  Martin Sheen's son, Charlie Sheen, arrives at Comedy Central's Roast of Charlie Sheen held at Sony Studios on September 10, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

• Martin Sheen & Emilio Estevez pose with Larry Flick

  NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 07: Actors Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez pose with The Morning Jolt host Larry Flick (C) at SiriusXM Studio on October 7, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

Comments

[Ursula Baukol]

05:13 PM on 08/05/2012

Group think is dangerous. Hispanics look white, black, asian, indian and every other ethnicity under the sun. Does it matter how they look? And if they look white, what's wrong with that? Let's each do something that our loved ones, colleagues and communities can be proud of and forget about the race/ethnicity issue. In the end, what matters is what we do, not what we look like...

[smurfshoe]

06:16 PM on 08/01/2012

Somehow I feel this is racist on Univision's part, although I cant explain how ATM.

[Luvon]

02:14 PM on 07/29/2012

And besides, Charlie Sheen doesn't look hispanic, so it would make sense he doesn't feel hispanic. He looks White.

[Leslie Mariani]

02:14 PM on 07/29/2012

And when I wake up, which is not very often, I don't feel like nor do I want to feel Charlie Sheen.GEEZ!
Just because your grand dad was hispanic, are you obliged to feel Latino? Ah yes ,dance the Spanish jig, or the Cucaracha, or "whatever". ( By the way,the "whatever" is not a Hispanic dance.)
I wake up as the male Leslie, a human being. ( I had to clarify the male part for some reason.) I don't go around mumbling to myself or others that I am Hispanic, Polish, Jewish or Ms. Salinas. (Of which I am only Hispanic) Ms. Salinas wastes her time on the trivial so that we can can all comment on the stupid interview. He dicho!

[Luvon]

02:13 PM on 07/29/2012

A hispanic is someone with Native American and Caucasian blood, so if he more identifies with his Caucasian, wealthy culture, that's on him. It's like getting mad at Obama for more associating with black folks that white folks, even though his genetics are split right down the middle.

I'm Hispanic, but I don't identify with ANY culture; I'm pretty much an introvert that seldom gets caught in the gusts of culture, trends, modes of thought. I listen to spanish, American, Chinese and Japanese music; watch all kinds of foreign and American movies, and that's how I decide to live my life. I associate with people I like and ideas I like, regardless of culture, though I would be lying if I said certain modes of thinking I loathe.

Why does somebody have to pick a culture like they pick a team? We are individuals and follow what we like. Why should someone be forced to embrace culture?

The fact that he changed his name, however, I think shows he thinks being associated with Hispanics or their culture would be to the detriment of his career. Can't defend him there.

[zomaster1]

10:55 AM on 07/29/2012

this is the problem, whenever someone finds some type of link of spanish or latin heritage to someone that you would not think would be they always try to claim that the person's ethnicity is spanish or hispanic when its not. spanish and latin is a heritage not a ethnicity and if he didn't feel that close to it then he didn't feel that close to it bc thats not what he was raised as. its not like he never knew about it bc the other brother kept his spanish name and they all acknowledged their heritage but does it make their ethnicity spanish or latin? no bc they're white. people need to stop trying to make heritage and nationality a ethnicity bc its stupid, your not gonna see someone in america go around saying their ethnicity is american bc people would look at them stupid.

[buflobil]

10:25 AM on 07/29/2012

Charlie, Kardashians, Bristol Palin, Lindsay Lohan are all a waste.

[JoseQueensNYResident]

09:32 PM on 07/27/2012

Honestly who cares. He is entitled to feel as he wishes

[5ho0F1y]

10:19 PM on 07/26/2012

...No - he wakes up feeling Latina, and she loves it.
8•Р

[AG creative]

02:37 PM on 07/26/2012

He wakes up looking for his crack pipe.

[Ezzy666]

12:58 PM on 07/22/2012

I don't wake up feeling financially challenged.

[hcinco]

05:20 AM on 07/17/2012

Who cares what Charlie Sheen thinks about his ethnicity? Because it cannot be escaped. People of Spanish or Portuguese heritage did not seek the special classification of Hispanic or Latino. It was given to them to lump them together under the premise that as a bloc they would reap greater rewards. Baloney. When I was on active duty I never saw an enemy put into his gun a different clip with bullets meant only for whites, blacks or anyone else. The enemy's bullets were meant to kill Americans, like me. But, we feel comfortable labeling people, and that's what gets everyone into trouble.

[Jason Elias]

01:12 AM on 07/16/2012

"I'm a white guy in America..." There's part of Sheen's problem right there. He has issues and who knows, that insane drive to be Mr. White Guy has made him lose his roots, all variations of them. If Sheen's anything, he's made himself a Bland White American when his story is more varied and interesting than that. He's sad...

[RobietheCat]

03:18 AM on 07/16/2012

Yeah, according to a documentary on his dad's roots in Spain, one of his relatives was imprisoned and tortured by the Spanish govt before and during the Civil War.

Who wouldn't want to get in touch with such Spanish Roots?

[JuliaOceania]

04:29 PM on 07/15/2012

Recently I responded to a post where someone noted that Penelope Cruz was "Latina", when I corrected this person, and told him that she was Spanish, they could not seem to understand why Spanish people are not Latino. I do not understand why the media tends to assume that just because someone has a Latin sounding last name, this does not make them Latino. They do not make this mistake with Italians and French people, (
even though those languages are Romance (heavily Latin based languages)

Sheen does not feel Latino. He was raised in White bread America. I do not know why anyone would expect him to feel particularly Latino just because Estevez is a Spanish sounding way. I think Sheen was being honest, and I do not know why this article is portraying some sort of underlying racism on Sheen's part. If he were to make himself sound as if his identity was steeped in Latin America, they would have likewise made him sound as a pretentious tool. He can't seem to catch a break.

[RobietheCat]

03:20 AM on 07/16/2012

Huh?

How could Spanish not be Latina?

I understand that Spaniards are also Germanic and Arabic, but they can still be Latin.

Maybe they need their own special category, Gerabic?

Just goes to show how utterly ridiculous labels are......

[JuliaOceania]

01:06 PM on 07/16/2012

I think labels are fine, as long as those doing the labeling are self applying them. As for Penelope Cruz, I am pretty sure she is on the record as calling herself European, since she was born there and all.

[hcinco]

05:22 AM on 07/17/2012

Why do you need to label someone?

[BlairCase]

03:37 PM on 07/15/2012

Charlie Sheen's paternal grandfather was Spanish immigrant while his paternal grandmother was Irish. He probably doesn't weake up feeling Irish either.