Charlie Sheen’s first dramatic role in quite a while is the film 9/11, about the tragic events of September 11th based on the play Elevator by Patrick Carson. The poster and trailer for the film surprised many when it first started to appear online during the summer, but now we’ve reached the day itself and the film has been released to coincide with it. The trouble with Sheen’s presence in the film is that he famously became a face for the “truther” movement, sitting for a 2006 interview with Alex Jones where he talked about it being a “conspiracy” and that the buildings were brought down by a “controlled demolition.”
Many have criticized Sheen and the film, including SNL cast member Pete Davidson who lost his father during the attacks, and the actor’s past comments are hanging over a film that already has many scratching their heads. It’s also not something he’s shied away from, discussing his stance in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, offering an apology while also showing that he hasn’t exactly given up on it:
“I know I got lot of heat for the opinions I had that weren’t just my own,” Sheen told THR early in the interview. “I was not just coming up with stuff about 9/11. I was parroting those a lot smarter and a lot more experienced than myself, who had very similar questions. If I offended anyone, I apologize; and if I inspired anyone, then so be it…
“I am more about moving forward,” Sheen said. “Not to put this behind us, because, as it was brilliantly written, we must never forget, but there are still a couple of things just rooted in simple physics that beg some measure of inquiry. I was in contact with a lot of family members and they were in concert with a lot of my questions.”
It would seem like the easiest thing would be to stay away from 9/11 conspiracy theories when you are starring in a film about 9/11, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. That said, Sheen does seem serious about the film and wants it to be a return for him to serious acting, possibly even with a network drama. He also claims that he hopes we could use the film as an excuse to return the nation to a point in time where we were all together:
“It is still a time when we really came together as a country, as a people. And I think given where we are at right now, maybe it is nice reminder, in spite of what led us there, to be more unified, be more united.”
Sheen also said that making the film gave him “more respect for those there on the tragic day and a lot more sadness for those who didn’t survive.” It remains to be seen if the film will actually be a tribute to those people.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)