Martin Sheen has said he took voiceover work for Pepsi and Toyota advertisements in the mid-1980s because he needed the money, despite not being proud of the assignments. His comments illustrate the uneven nature of an acting career, even for someone associated with acclaimed films such as Badlands and Apocalypse Now.

Sheen told the Los Angeles Times that commercial work was easier than making a television film and acknowledged that much of his career had involved work he considered poor. He said he would rather highlight Badlands and Apocalypse Now on an audition tape, calling them equally important to him; his later career included an award-winning role as President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing and further work with his son Charlie Sheen.