NAPLES, Fla. — Martin Sheen says he wishes he had the courage of his son Charlie, who has revealed he’s HIV-positive.

According to the Naples Daily News, Sheen said his 50-year-old son had been working up to the announcement for months with his family’s encouragement.

Sheen said that as he watched his son reveal “his deepest, darkest secret, I couldn’t believe the level of courage I was witnessing, and that it was my son.”

Sheen encouraged support for people struggling with drug and alcohol addictions.

He said he hoped the announcement was “the first day of the rest of Charlie’s life as a free man.”