Martin Sheen
Now aged in his seventies, Ramón Antonio Gerard Estévez, better known by his stage name Martin Sheen returns to his Irish ancestral county of Tipperary, as cameras are set to roll on the set of Newgrange Pictures’ new feature film ‘Stella Days’ on Sunday, November 7th.
Tipperary will play host to this Golden Globe winner from ‘The West Wing’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and also Oscar nominee Stephen Rea of ‘The Crying Game’ and ‘Ondine’ fame, both of whom will lead the film’s impressive cast.
Martin Sheen was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Mary Ann Phelan, 1903–1951 and Francisco Estévez 1898–1974, who were a factory worker and machinery inspector respectively at the National Cash Register Company at the time. Both parents were immigrants; his mother was born in Borrisokane, County Tipperary, Ireland and his father in Parderrubias, Galicia, Spain.
Written by Antoine O’Flathartha and directed by IFTA winning Irish director Thaddeus O’Sullivan of ‘Into the Storm’ and ‘December Bride’, fame, the Newgrange Pictures production will see Martin Sheen play parish priest, Daniel Barry, whose love for the cinema leads him on a path to help set up a local cinema in the town. But Daniel comes up against opposition from doubtful local parishioners who question his faith and a Bishop who is more interested in raising funds for a new church.
‘Stella Days‘ is scheduled to shoot for about five weeks under the photographic direction of John Christian Rosenlund and will be edited in a Dublin post house following its shoot. The drama is being produced by Jackie Larkin and Maggie Pope and funds of €600,000 have been awarded by the Irish Film Board towards the making of the film.
So let’s show Martin and company a true Tipperary homecoming welcome.
Would love to be in Tipperary this autumn, especially to witness the great Martin Sheen making a movie. My father, Jack Corbett, was from Ballinderry and his brother, Din, still lives there by the River Shannon. I would love to meet Martin, not just because he is my “Cousin’s cousin”, but because of his politics and love of humanity. Best wishes from London, Marie Alvarado
Why is the film not been filmed in Borrisokane? I thought it would make sense to do that.
Hi KK,
It’s all about location-location-location and while it would be nice in Borrisokane, Martin’s own home town, Fethard wins out this time. However Martin I am sure will visit his home during his time in Tipperary.