President Bartlett on the stump

Kannapolis, N.C. — Actor Martin Sheen did some real-life politicking for a congressional candidate who used to work on his television series “The West Wing.”

Sheen, who portrays fictional president Josiah Bartlett on the TV series, attended private fund-raisers Saturday in Charlotte and Richmond County for 8th District congressional candidate Beth Troutman.

Troutman, a Democrat who worked for four years as assistant to the executive producer of “The West Wing,” is trying to unseat Republican Rep. Robin Hayes.

‘Forgotten’ leads box office

Los Angeles — It’s been a bad time for movies in general lately, but good for thrillers like “The Forgotten,” which claimed the No. 1 box office spot over the weekend, scaring up $22 million.

The overall box office was down for the fourth straight weekend compared with the same time last year.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

1. “The Forgotten,” $22 million.

2. “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” $6.7 million.

3. “Mr. 3000,” $5 million.

4. (tie) “First Daughter,” $4 million.

4. (tie) “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” $4 million.

6. “Cellular,” $3.7 million.

7. “Wimbledon,” $3.4 million.

8. “Shaun of the Dead,” $3.3 million.

9. “Without a Paddle,” $2.4 million.

10. “Hero,” $2.3 million.

Fame ‘a nightmare’ for Dylan

London — Bob Dylan, who is working on the second volume of his autobiography, says he went through a personal crisis in the late 1960s when his huge fame made it difficult to escape ravenous fans.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Dylan recalled moving to rural New York state in search of solitude, only to be followed en masse by fans.

“It all turned into a nightmare,” he said.

Dylan said his fear that a crazed fan could attack him or his family led him to keep several guns in his house and stifled his creative process.

“In the early years everything had been like a magic carpet ride for me, and then all at once it was over,” Dylan said. “Here was this thing I’d wanted to do all my life, but suddenly I didn’t feel I could do it anymore.”

Asked whether he came close to a nervous breakdown, Dylan replied: “I guess I did.”