Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
19. Martin Sheen
The famous actor rose to prominence with classic movies like “Badlands” and “Apocalypse Now.” He is also famous for his roles in “Gettysburg,” “The Departed” and, of course, as the President Joshua Bartlett in the acclaimed TV series “The West Wing.” He is also the father of actors Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. Martin had a difficult childhood and, before he got his break in acting, he was struggling and for a while even lived on the streets of New York City.
Sheen was born into a family of immigrants with ten children. He had polio and was bedridden for a year but managed to regain use of his legs. When his mother died, the children were almost sent to an orphanage but with the help of a local church they managed to stay together. When he moved to New York City to pursue the career in acting, Sheen was so broke he couldn’t even afford a room and spent many nights in the subway, before he joined the Living Theatre company.