Charlie Sheen's father is his "hero".

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen

The 50-year-old star has praised Martin Sheen, 75, for being "smart, compassionate and patient".

He said: "He is my hero. He is smart, compassionate and patient enough to know that at some point I'd find my way back home and he and my mom would be waiting for me. He was worried but supportive."

And the 'Two And A Half Men' star - who was diagnosed with HIV four years ago and publicly revealed his disease until last November - is glad he was able to open up about his struggle with the disease.

Speaking on Friday's (17.06.16) episode of The Graham Norton Show, he added: "It was good to talk about it and what I had been dealing with. [Taking part in drug trials was] an opportunity to stop the self-loathing and the 'Why me?' and be part of something genuinely important."

Meanwhile, Charlie's father Martin previously praised his son for how much "courage" he showed when he revealed he was HIV-positive.

He said: "He had been leading up to this sort of story for several months, and we kept encouraging him to do it. He kept backing away and backing away because it was like going to his own execution, I guess. This morning, as I watched him alone, reveal his deepest, darkest secret, I couldn't believe the level of courage I was witnessing, and that it was my son. I left him a message, and I said that if I had that much courage, I would change the world.

"I just want to encourage all of you that have children, spouses, aunts, uncles, clients, that are involved in any form of addiction to realise that it's a disease and if it they had cancer, you wouldn't think of them any differently. But most importantly, people, and I speak from my own personal experience, most people who become addicted are looking for a transcendent experience."