I'm betting the pitch didn't go this way:
"Hey, Martin Sheen, if you come and play a key role in Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, in the first scene you'll be covered head to toe in wet, dripping manure."
Sign me up!
"Well, that was some form of an oatmeal molasses, actually," Sheen said. "It didn't stink, but it certainly was hard to get off. It was on me for a very long time."
Something else that has been around for a very long time is Anne of Green Gables. But this new version – starring Sheen as Matthew Cuthbert, Sara Botsford as Marilla Cuthbert and Ella Ballentine as Anne Shirley – is a two-hour made-for-TV movie that debuts Feb. 15 on YTV.
Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables – yes, that's the full name – is not to be confused the upcoming CBC series simply titled Anne, which begins production later this year with an eye toward a debut in 2017. Good lord, suddenly it's Anne of Green Gables mania!
"Oh sure, it's one of the great Canadian classics, everybody knows it," said Sheen, who has been well-known to movie and TV audiences for decades. "I've read it to my children 50 years ago. We all know the story. And it never gets old, even though you know what's coming.
"There are as many different interpretations as there are actors doing it. So I felt very comfortable going in there, you know, I was the right age (Sheen is 75). I love the little girl, Ella (Ballentine). And I knew Sara (Botsford) from The West Wing, she played the wife of John Spencer's character.
"You have to be ruled by the material with Anne of Green Gables. You can't say, 'Oh, well, here's an opportunity for me.' Everybody has a role to play."
But notably, Sheen does bring something unique to the role of Matthew, who, along with his sister Marilla, eventually invite Anne to live with them at their Prince Edward Island home, overcoming their initial disappointment that Anne isn't a boy who instantly can provide free labour on the farm.
In some versions of Anne of Green Gables, the Matthew character can be a bit passive, or even bland, given the presence of the strong-willed Marilla. But Sheen plays Matthew with a refreshing sense of both quiet strength and subtle warmth, and he has the ability to inject humour with just a glance here and there.
"Well, thank you, but they have to use it," Sheen said with a chuckle. "You can do all the glancing you want, but it they don't edit it in there, it's all for naught. Every now and then I'm glad one gets through."
Sheen said modern society could learn something from the community aspect of Anne of Green Gables, which perhaps is why it has remained relevant for so long. The story is set in the late 1800s, with the original book first published in 1908.
"These weren't only rural people, but an island people, very isolated, and sometimes in very severe conditions," Sheen said. "You had to have trust in your neighbour. That's something we don't really have left anymore."
Sheen grew up in Ohio, but any Canadian would be humbled to hear how fondly and affectionately he speaks of Canada.
"I've been up there so often over the past few years, I've been to every province," Sheen said. "I cross the border and feel as if I've left the land of lunatics. You have a wonderful culture. Please cherish it.
"I look forward to a return trip. There was some talk about doing another episode, another book. It was last spring (when this one was filmed) and we had this wonderful little company out there, they shot it up near Milton (Ont.).
"Actually, I was the only American, so I felt a responsibility that I took quite seriously."
The eloquent Martin Sheen certainly isn't full of manure. Covered in it, yes, but that's another story.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/ifhsay56Fwc
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