In an interview with Closer Weekly, Martin expressed regret over not officially changing his name, stating, “That’s one of my regrets. I never changed my name officially. It’s still Ramon Estévez on my birth certificate. It’s on my marriage license, my passport, driver’s license.”
He acknowledged that sometimes people make decisions without enough insight or courage to stand up for their beliefs, leading to consequences later on. However, he clarified that he was only speaking for himself.
Interestingly, Martin’s experience with his name change became a valuable lesson that he passed on to his son. Reflecting on this, he mentioned, “The only influence I had on Emilio was to keep his name.” Emilio resisted suggestions to change his name to Sheen, a decision Martin was grateful for.
During an interview with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, Emilio discussed his father’s regret about changing his stage name in 1958. Emilio revealed, “I think when it was time for me to start making those moves and doing auditions, he said, ‘Man, if I had one thing to do over, it was that I never would have changed my name.'”
In an effort to honor his father’s wish, Emilio used Martin’s real name in the credits for the re-release of their 2010 film, “The Way.” Emilio shared, “So, as executive producer, it says: Ramón Gerard Estévez.” The film hit select theaters in mid-May 2023.
It’s touching that Martin could finally see his real name on the big screen, thanks to the love and consideration of his son