Netflix’s two-part documentary aka Charlie Sheen, released Sept. 10, presents a series of candid admissions from the actor about addiction, sex and family interventions, as he marks his 60th birthday. The film, which Sheen made alongside a memoir published a day earlier, includes interviews with the actor, his ex-wife Denise Richards and other figures who appeared at various points in his life and career.
Among the disclosures Sheen makes in the documentary are episodes of extreme substance use and risky behavior that intersected with his work and personal life. He says he once piloted a passenger jet while drunk during his 1995 honeymoon, that heavy cocaine use caused an 18‑hour nosebleed on set, and that he resorted to putting an ice cube rectally to stay awake during the 1998 film Free Money after a director noticed him nodding off.
Sheen recounts a private and tumultuous sexual history in both the documentary and his memoir. He describes losing his virginity as a teenager to an escort in Las Vegas and acknowledges past sexual encounters with men, saying in the film that going public with that history felt "liberating." He also discusses his HIV diagnosis, relating scenes of illness and anxiety that prompted ex‑wife Denise Richards to encourage testing. Sheen tells viewers he has informed sexual partners after his diagnosis and states, "Nobody got this from me. Period. The end. Full stop."
The documentary includes accounts of attempts by others to help Sheen confront addiction. Sheen describes a 1990 intervention organized by family and friends that included a phone call from Clint Eastwood, whose words Sheen says helped persuade him to accept treatment. He also recounts an unusual arrangement with a former drug supplier: a dealer who told the film he was asked by Sheen’s counselor to dilute the cocaine he sold to the actor, gradually reducing potency over about 18 months to aid Sheen’s recovery.
Sheen says he eventually stopped using alcohol and drugs in 2017 and has remained single and celibate since then. He details moments of humiliation and consequence from his addictions, including a scene he says director Brett Ratner removed after Sheen’s nosebleed visibly stained his shirt during filming.
The film revisits other episodes that previously drew tabloid attention and framed them with new context. Sheen recounts growing up for a time in a household where his parents practiced nudism, an anecdote he uses to explain an unconventional early exposure to Hollywood life. He also recalls leaving a rehab facility briefly to judge a Hawaiian Tropic bikini contest — an episode he reports fulfilled a promise to return to the facility by a set time to avoid a financial penalty.
Interviews with friends and colleagues supplement Sheen’s own recollections. Several contributors — including actors who worked with him over decades — describe a performer whose professional talent often existed alongside personal instability. The film places those observations beside Sheen’s own narration of events, allowing him to frame decisions and moments that previously played out in public.
Sheen’s disclosures about his diagnosis and subsequent blackmail attempts are addressed directly. He says people threatened to disclose his HIV status and demanded millions of dollars; the documentary includes his assertion that he told partners about his diagnosis and that no one contracted the virus from him. The film does not detail legal outcomes of the alleged extortion attempts.
aka Charlie Sheen comes as part of a wave of star‑led documentaries in which well‑known actors and musicians revisit controversial or defining moments. The format allows Sheen to present his account alongside corroborating voices and archival footage, but it has drawn attention precisely because many of the stories — from piloting an airplane while intoxicated to the extreme measures he describes taking to perform on set — are both personal and consequential.
The documentary’s release coincided with Sheen’s memoir, and together they form a record of his perspective on decades of headlines. Viewers and critics may weigh the new details against previous reports and public records. For now, the film stands as a first‑person accounting of addiction, sexuality and illness from an actor whose career and life have been subject to intense media scrutiny for more than 30 years.