Emilio Estevez has had a lifelong career in film. Raised by show-business parents, Estevez has made a name for himself acting in iconic films, such as “The Breakfast Club” and “The Outsiders,” since his teens. “The Way,” his fifth film as a writer and 12th as a director, took Estevez down a more personal path. With his father Martin Sheen, playing the lead character, the film follows the journey of a man trying to cope with the death of his son. The Chronicle spoke with Estevez and Sheen about the lessons to take away from the film, the age of technology and gathering inspiration from childhood.

The Chronicle: Considering most people know you as an actor, what do you hope people take away from your directorial work?

Emilio Estevez: I’ve always been a storyteller. Even when I was a kid, I was always interested in creative writing classes. I think I wrote my first script when I was seven or eight, and I submitted it to a studio. It was written on notebook paper, it was silly and it was rejected, as it should have been. I’ve always thought of myself as a filmmaker. My folks bought us a camera when I was little as a way to document us growing up. But Charlie [Sheen] and I took the camera [as a way] to make our own movies.As a filmmaker now, it feels like an organic extension of being a kid, and the [films] we used to [make] in the backyard. My mom recently found a box of these films and I’m in it. Charlie, Sean Penn and his brother Chris [Penn] and Rob Lowe might have been in some of them. But my mom said, “How any of you have careers as an actor is astonishing because of how terrible all of you are in those films” [laughs].

The Chronicle: In the film, the main character focuses on the fast track in the beginning for his career, himself and his son rather than experiencing life. What advice do you have for young people who feel pressure to be on the fast track?

Martin Sheen: I think our film really addresses that sense of anxiety that our entire culture is experiencing. Emilio talks about how we’re in constant communication [by using] our cellphones, tweeting, computers and texting. I think that the most difficult thing for young people today is peer pressure. All of these things are forced upon us by the media, our culture and this horrible pressure. And yet, it is the first step toward becoming ourselves that we go against that. It is the first small step toward our transcendence that we become heroic. We do things or choose a direction that is contrary to the crowd and satisfying to the heart. To do something of that nature has got to cost you something. If it doesn’t cost you something, you’re left to question its value. I think all of our lives [are] an effort of transcendence. We’re the only ones who will know that we are honest. Our lives are pilgrimages. We have to walk this path alone; no one can walk in your shoes and no one can carry your baggage. But you cannot do it without community. None of us are out there alone. We know that we are loved.

The Chronicle: The original length of the film was much longer than a standard film. Can you tell me a little bit about the editing process?

EE: It is an 800 kilometer journey and then another 90 kilometers to the ocean. I felt that we needed to at least have it and shoot the journey and then figure out how much stays. When we were in Spain, the lab that was processing the film commented on how no one has ever shot that much footage before. The film is now a little under two hours, but there is nothing missing. Making the film ends up being the easiest part.

MS: We didn’t know that at the time [laughs].

EE: Cutting it is more difficult. You know, they say you have to kill the thing you love the most.

The Chronicle: Martin, as you continue your career what do you look for in a role now that you haven’t looked for in

the past?

MS: Frankly, this is a rare opportunity for me at this age to be cast in the lead role in a film. I can’t remember a time where I was the lead in anything film-wise. So it was a very unexpected gift and I embraced it. The greatest anxiety I had was not wanting to mess it up. I was very anxious about doing a good job, stay[ing] in good shape, stay[ing] focused, stay[ing] disciplined and just do[ing] the very best I possibly could. [Emilio] trusted me with it and I trusted him. These days I’m at an age and a place where not that many leading roles come. This was something deeply personal to explore and to do it with [my son] was deeply gratifying.

The Chronicle: Living a life, not choosing a life, was a central theme in this film. Did you plan for it to be that way or did it just happen?

EE: I planned it. [It goes with] the idea of actually being in life versus having life happen to you and being in the moment contrary to recording the moment. You go to a concert now and people are holding up their iPhone’s and recording it. I get it, you want to say “I was here.” But all of a sudden you’re not in the moment and not really experiencing that concert. So yeah, that is a theme in the film. It goes with “don’t miss it, stop looking down.” When we stop being tourists in our own lives I think that’s when we get in trouble. We lose the wonder. I can say to young folks, stay engaged, stay interested and keep looking up because it’s a better place to dwell.

“The Way” is currently playing in select theaters around the country.