Before He was "Winning": Charlie Sheen's Best Movie Roles

Charlie Sheen has become a tabloid and talk-show punch line for very obvious reasons. His wild antics and non-sensical rants have escalated in the past year to the point that he was finally fired from his popular TV show "Two and a Half Men." However rather than dwell on his current failings perhaps the time has come to celebrate Sheen's previous triumphs. While he's spent the past decade or so primarily focused on television work he was once a noted and respected film star. Below, in chronological order, are the best examples of Sheen's work on film.

"Platoon"
In his first leading role Sheen took on a doosie with this Oliver Stone war film. Sheen played Chris Taylor, a young and naive soldier sent into combat during Vietnam. Sheen was part of a very strong ensemble cast which included Tom Berenger and Willem DaFoe but as the central character a great deal of the film rested on his shoulders. Sheen took audiences with the character of Taylor along a dark and tragic path that made for an extremely powerful film. This was the film that truly marked the arrival of Charlie Sheen as an actor, and it's still worth revisiting today.

"Wall Street"
Michael Douglas as the greasy stock swindler Gordon Gecko may be the more iconic character of this film, but the whole thing would have fallen apart if the hero of the picture hadn't been in the hands of somebody like Sheen. The character of Bud Fox needed to be ambitious enough to be lured into Gecko's world, yet likable and vulnerable enough that he could be redeemed later int he film. Sheen managed to find that balance and keep the audience on his side even as he sunk deeper into Gecko's world of sleaze and greed. Part of the problem with the recent sequel was that Shia LaBeouf wasn't able to pull off a similar character as seamlessly as Sheen does in this film.

"Major League"
After such a strong showing in heavy dramatic roles Sheen tried his hand at something more light-hearted with this film. The story of a bitter baseball team owner who needs to get attendance down so she can move the team, resulting in a scheme where she tries to put together the worst team possible to drive the fans away. Sheen played an ex-con pitcher nicknamed "Wild Thing." He brought his bad boy image and personality to bare in the role yet remained approachable enough to be a character that was easy to root for. Sheen also had a great on screen chemistry with his co-stars which made it all the more enjoyable when they all came back for the first sequel.

"Hot Shots Part Deux"
Sheen dipped his toes in comedy for Major League, but for the "Hot Shots" films he dove in head first and didn't look back. While the original film was a straight parody of "Top Gun," this sequel was a high concept spoof that ripped on war movies ranging from the Rambo series to "Apocalypse Now." It even featured topical politics by having Saddam Hussein as the villain. While the first film leaned more heavily on wordplay this one went all out with visual gags that were wonderfully over the top. Sheen often was the straight man in any given scene but he could elicit a laugh with a well timed confused look and cock of his head. His deadpan delivery helped embed the film in the popular conciousness and may have been what cemented his sticking with comedy almost exclusively in the following years.

"The Arrival"
This was probably Sheen's last solid film performance before moving onto TV work. This under-appreciated film gives an inventive spin on the alien invasion genre with a well timed environmental message thrown in for good measure. In it Sheen played Zane, an astronomer who mans a radio tower listening for signals from other worlds. He finds a unique signal originating from the skies but when it appears a second time it's coming from a location on Earth. The conspiracy that Zane in the film is intriguing and holds up well, even today. While the notion of Sheen as a scientist may seem laughable now he does pull it off. He's plays a more working class scientist which suits him and he plays the paranoia that the character goes through later in the film extremely well.