I have to admit I was a tad starstruck meeting actor and social-justice activist Martin Sheen at a fundraising luncheon Thursday at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.

Sheen, after all, is one of my favorite actors. I’ve enjoyed his film work over the years and put his epic war movie “Apocalypse Now” towards the top of my list.

Sheen was the special guest at the fundraiser for the university’s Dorothy Stang Center, which serves as a resource for social-justice issues and promotes community-engagement programs. Here’s the story.

He gave a short speech but hung out afterward chatting with people and signing autographs for a good while.

He also took time to answer questions from me and Noelle Garcia, a reporter for the campus newspaper The Argonaut.

I didn’t expect it, but I also got a free, filling meal at the event. Just one of the few perks of being a journalist, I guess.