Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)HOLLYWOOD actor Martin Sheen has been getting in touch with his Spanish roots.
The West Wing star, 70, has been in Galicia with his son Emilio Estevez to promote a new film on the famous pilgrims’ route, The Way of St James.
Sheen told a press conference he was delighted to be returning ‘home’ to Galicia from where his father heralds.
The father and son team are hoping the film The Way will inspire people to visit the region.
Estevez even described the film as ‘a love letter addressed to Spain’.
In it, Sheen plays an American widower who travels to Spain to recover the body of his dead son (Estevez) before embarking on a voyage of self discovery along the Camino de Santiago.
“The Camino, besides being a physical journey, is a spiritual journey as well and the central theme of the film is that we all need community, we all need each other but we walk alone,” Sheen said.
“I’ve grown up all my life hearing about Santiago and the pilgrimage, so the film is a culmination and a deeply satisfying dream come true.”
The actor, who was born Ramon Estevez to a Spanish father and Irish mother, has also been retracing his Irish heritage while filming ‘Stella Days’ in his mother’s home village of Borrisokane, in Tipperary.
“It’s an extraordinary circle of events, to have the opportunity to work in Spain and Ireland, two of my favourite countries,” he said.
