"I try to be known more for my work than for anything else"
About this Quote
The sentence is built on a careful dodge. "I try" admits failure without conceding defeat; it implies good intentions while acknowledging that fame is a machine with its own appetites. "More for my work" is conspicuously vague, too. Sheen isn't pointing to a specific performance or artistic philosophy. He's arguing for a hierarchy: the work should outrank "anything else", a catch-all that conveniently bundles scandal, addiction, tabloid chaos, and the surreal theater of being Charlie Sheen into a single disposable category.
Context is everything here. In the modern celebrity economy, attention doesn't discriminate between a sitcom rerun and a meltdown. Sheen's career - from Platoon to Two and a Half Men to the public "winning" era - is a case study in how fame can turn biography into the main event. The line works because it's both sincere and strategic: a human desire for dignity framed as a negotiation with an audience trained to watch the off-screen plot.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Sheen, Charlie. (2026, January 18). I try to be known more for my work than for anything else. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-try-to-be-known-more-for-my-work-than-for-18804/
Chicago Style
Sheen, Charlie. "I try to be known more for my work than for anything else." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-try-to-be-known-more-for-my-work-than-for-18804/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I try to be known more for my work than for anything else." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-try-to-be-known-more-for-my-work-than-for-18804/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.





