Sheen not interested in real 'West Wing'

West Wing star Martin Sheen has revealed that he turned down the chance to enter politics for real.

The actor, who played President Jed Bartlet on the hit drama, told students at the Oxford Union that he "couldn't bear sitting in meetings all day".

"A delegation of Democrats from Ohio asked me if I wanted to run for a Senate seat in 2004, and I said it was a tempting offer but no," he explained.

"We already had an old actor in national politics, and it didn't work out so well. He shall remain nameless... I'm not qualified for it, and I don't have the character for it... I don't have any aptitude for it."

The 68-year-old also discussed his role as a political activist, admitting that he had been arrested 66 times in his life, most recently in 2007 for trespass on a nuclear test facility in Nevada.

"I haven't been arrested for a year. It's very disappointing!" he joked. "Acting is what I do for a living. Activism is what I do to stay alive."