Sheen was greatly influenced by the actor James Dean. He developed a theatre company with other actors in hopes that a production would earn him recognition. In 1963, he made an appearance in "Nightmare", an episode of the television science fiction series "The Outer Limits". In 1964, he co-starred in the Broadway play "The Subject Was Roses"; he later reprised his role in the 1968 film of the same name, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sheen also starred in the television production "Ten Blocks on the Camino Real" (1966), an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play "Camino Real" directed by Jack Landau and presented by NET, a PBS predecessor.