Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen (born 5 February 1969)[1] is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in Romeo and Juliet (1992), Don't Fool with Love (1993), Peer Gynt (1994), The Seagull (1995), The Homecoming (1997), and Henry V (1997). His performances in Amadeus at the Old Vic and Look Back in Anger at the National Theatre were nominated for Olivier Awards in 1998 and 1999, respectively. In 2003, he was nominated for a third Olivier Award for his performance in Caligula at the Donmar Warehouse.
Michael Sheen
Actor
1991–present
- Kate Beckinsale (1995–2003)
- Lorraine Stewart (2004–2010)
- Rachel McAdams (2010–2013)
- Sarah Silverman (2014–2018)
- Anna Lundberg (2019–present)
3
Sheen transitioned his career as a screen actor focusing on biographical films.[2] For writer Peter Morgan, he starred in a trilogy of films as UK prime minister Tony Blair—the television film The Deal in 2003, The Queen (2006), and The Special Relationship (2010)—earning him nominations for both a BAFTA Award and an Emmy. He was also nominated for a BAFTA as the troubled comic actor Kenneth Williams in BBC Four's 2006 Fantabulosa!, and was nominated for a fourth Olivier Award in 2006 for portraying the broadcaster David Frost in Frost/Nixon, a role he revisited in the 2008 film adaptation of the play. He starred as the controversial football manager Brian Clough in The Damned United (2009).
Since 2009, Sheen has had a wider variety of roles. In 2009, he appeared in two fantasy films, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and in 2010, he made a four-episode guest appearance in the NBC comedy 30 Rock. He appeared in the science-fiction film Tron: Legacy (2010) and Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011). He directed and starred in National Theatre Wales's The Passion.[3][4] From late 2011 until early 2012, he played the title role in Hamlet at the Young Vic. He played a lead role in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 in 2012. In 2013, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in Showtime's television drama Masters of Sex.
Sheen played an incarcerated serial killer surgeon in Fox's drama series Prodigal Son (2019–2021), Aziraphale in the BBC/Amazon Studios fantasy comedy series Good Omens (2019–present), and appeared as Chris Tarrant in Quiz (2020). He played himself in the quarantine comedy show Staged (2020–2022) with his friend and Good Omens co-star David Tennant throughout the COVID-19 lockdown.
Sheen is politically engaged, and in 2017 he renounced being an OBE after conducting research on Wales's relationship with England.
Early life[edit]
Sheen was born on 5 February 1969 in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales,[5] the son of Irene, a secretary, and Meyrick, a British Steel Corporation personnel manager.[6] He has one younger sister, Joanne.[6] The family had already been living in Llanmartin for seven years prior to his birth.[7] When he was five, the family moved to Wallasey for work,[8] but settled in his parents' home town of Port Talbot, Glamorgan, three years later.[9][10]
Director Sam Mendes has described Sheen as "a stage creature" and attributed that to the actor's Welsh roots: "I'm serious. He's Welsh in the tradition of Anthony Hopkins and Richard Burton: fiery, mercurial, unpredictable."[11] A keen footballer, Sheen was scouted and offered a place on Arsenal's youth team at the age of 12, but his family was unwilling to relocate to London. He later said he was "grateful" for his parents' decision, as the chances of forging a professional football career were "so slim".[12]
Sheen was raised in a theatrical family, his parents both being involved in local amateur operatics and musicals[13] and, later in life, his father worked as a part-time professional Jack Nicholson lookalike.[14] In his teenage years, Sheen was involved with the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre and, later, the National Youth Theatre of Wales.[13][15] "It was a brilliant youth theatre", Sheen has said, "and it taught me not only a lot about acting, but also about work ethic; it was very disciplined."[16] He was influenced by the performances of Laurence Olivier and the writings of theatre critic Kenneth Tynan, saying "the combination of those two things kind of blew my head off."[17][18] Sheen was educated at Blaenbaglan Primary School, Glan Afan Comprehensive School and, finally, Neath Port Talbot College where he sat A-levels in English, Drama and Sociology.[6] He considered studying English at university but instead decided to attend drama school.[13] He moved to London in 1988 to train as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA),[13] having spent the previous year working in a Welsh fast-food restaurant called Burger Master to earn money.[6] Sheen was granted the Laurence Olivier Bursary by the Society of London Theatre in his second year at RADA.[19][20] He graduated in 1991 with a BA in Acting.[6]
Career[edit]
Classical stage roles (1991–2001)[edit]
Sheen worked predominantly in theatre in the 1990s and has since remarked that he will always feel "slightly more at home" on stage. "It's more of an actor's medium. You are your own editor, nobody else is choosing what is being seen of you."[21] His first professional role, while still in his third and final year at RADA, was in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991.[22] He later described the role as "a big break. One day, I was at RADA doing a movement class, the next I was at a read-through with Vanessa Redgrave and Frances de la Tour."[23] Milton Shulman of the Evening Standard praised an "excellent" performance[24] while The Observer wrote of "a notable West End debut".[25] In 1992, Sheen's performance in Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Exchange received a MEN Theatre Award nomination[26] and led theatre critic Michael Coveney to declare him "the most exciting young actor of his generation ... a volatile, electrifying and technically fearless performer".[14][27] His 1993 turn as Perdican in Alfred de Musset's Don't Fool With Love at the Donmar Warehouse was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award.[28][29] and was described by The Independent as "quite thrilling".[30] Also in 1993, Sheen appeared in the world premiere of Harold Pinter's Moonlight at the Almeida Theatre[31] and made his television debut in the 1993 BBC mini-series Gallowglass.[32]
Sheen played the title role in Peer Gynt in 1994. The Yukio Ninagawa production was staged in Oslo, Tokyo and at the Barbican Centre, London. The Times praised Sheen's "astonishing vitality"[33] while The Independent found him "sensationally good" and noted that "the Norwegian press were grudgingly captivated by the mercurial Welsh boyo".[34] In other 1994 work, Sheen appeared in Le Livre de Spencer at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, Paris[35] and starred in the cross-dressing farce Charley's Aunt at the Royal Exchange.[36] In 1995, he appeared opposite Kate Beckinsale in a production of The Seagull at the Theatre Royal, Bath[37] and, with the encouragement of Thelma Holt,[38] directed and starred in The Dresser at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. In addition, Sheen made his film debut that year, appearing opposite Kenneth Branagh in Othello.[39] 1996 saw Sheen at the National Theatre for The Ends of the Earth, an original play by David Lan.[40] A minor role in Mary Reilly marked the first of three film collaborations with director Stephen Frears.[41] Sheen's most significant appearance of 1997 was the title role in Henry V, staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at their Stratford-upon-Avon theatre, which earned him a second Ian Charleson Award nomination.[42] The Times praised "a blisteringly intelligent performance".[43] Also in 1997, he appeared in a revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming at the National Theatre, directed by Roger Michell,[44] and directed Badfinger, starring Rhys Ifans, at the Donmar Warehouse.[45][46][47] The latter was staged by the Thin Language Theatre Company, which Sheen had co-founded in 1991, aiming to further Welsh theatre.[38][48] He then appeared in the biographical film Wilde, playing Robbie Ross to Stephen Fry's Oscar Wilde.[49] In early 1998 Sheen formed a production company, The Foundry, with Helen McCrory and Robert Delamere to promote the work of emerging playwrights,[48] and produced A Little World of Our Own at the Donmar Warehouse, which gave Colin Farrell his West End debut.[50]
Political and social activism[edit]
Sheen is known for political and social activism. Examples include campaigning against high-cost credit agreements, crises in local journalism and describing himself as a not-for-profit actor due to his contributions to social causes.[278][279][280]
He has made calls for discussions about Welsh independence[281][282][283] and has made comments about the institution of the "Prince of Wales" title.[284] In 2024, Sheen showed support to a cross-party campaign of Plaid Cymru and Welsh Labour focused on devolving the Crown Estate to Wales.[285][286]
Personal life[edit]
Sheen was in a relationship with English actress Kate Beckinsale from 1995 until 2003. They met when cast in a touring production of The Seagull in early 1995,[37] and began living together shortly afterwards.[287][288] Their daughter Lily Mo was born in 1999 in London.[37] Their relationship ended in January 2003, soon after the couple moved to Los Angeles.[37] Beckinsale had persuaded director Len Wiseman to cast Sheen in Underworld;[289] but while on set, she and Wiseman fell in love,[9] and subsequently married in 2004.[290]
Sheen had a long-distance relationship with English ballet dancer Lorraine Stewart from late 2004 until mid-2010.[291] He dated Canadian actress Rachel McAdams from autumn 2010 to early 2013,[292][293] American actress Caitlin FitzGerald from 2013 to 2014 and American comedian and actress Sarah Silverman from early 2014 to early 2018.[294][295]
Sheen now lives in Port Talbot, Wales, with the Swedish actress Anna Lundberg.[296][297][298] The couple have two daughters together, born September 2019 and May 2022.[299][300][301]
He is a supporter of Swansea City A.F.C.