In person Sheen is quiet, unassuming and inconspicuous - in contrast to his striking chameleon-like talents as an actor to transform himself into the person he's playing.  

(Tom Brook, BBC News, 8/17/07)

16-Feb-2008

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"As an actor I think you're always going to ride a fine line between doing something because you believe it's the right thing to do, and guessing what the public wants to see....You have to be quite vigilant with yourself and question why you're doing certain things as well as what's behind all that. Because otherwise, you can find yourself having made choices for the wrong reasons. And suddenly you're a completely different person than the one you thought you were a year earlier."  (Interview with Emily Mortimer, 1 July 2007)  

Michael Sheen's Biography

Read about Michael’s life in his own words in his interview for the South Bank Show.  A transcript for the entire South Bank Show is being prepared for those who missed seeing it.  Michael reveals himself to be intelligent as well as articulate.  The summary below of his life was acquired through numerous sources which are referenced as needed.

Accomplished British actor Michael Sheen was born in Newport,  Gwent, Wales on February 5, 1969 to Irene and Meyrick Sheen, a family with a history of theatrical performing.  His great-great-grandmother was a lion tamer for Ringling Brothers Circus, his father is a professional Jack Nicholson personality,  his cousin is a major star of the West End, and other relatives have taken part in amateur operatic productions.   A love and skill for the theatre and performing is written within his genes.

Newport, his birth place, is the third largest city in Wales and is the cultural capital of Monmouthshire.   Shortly after his birth, Michael's family moved to Port Talbot, an industrial town with a population of 50,000.  

(For those not from the UK, Wales is the principality; Gwent is a preserved county formed in 1974  in southeast Wales; Monmouthshire used to be a county but was abolished in 1996 and portions of the county were annexed into Gwent.  The history/geography lesson is needed due to conflicting references to both Gwent and Monmouthshire as Michael's birth county.)

After a recent incident in which Michael was told that Wales was part of England, a new section was added: The History of Wales.

<Port Talbot> "It was a good place to grow up....I always loved it even though everyone else hated it and said, 'I can't wait to get out.' I suppose I always assumed that I would leave anyway so I never had a problem with it."  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/halloffame/showbiz/michael_sheen.shtml)

One of his first jobs was flipping burgers at the local fast food restaurent "Burger Master".

As a youth Michael's passion was football, and he longed to play professionally.  "I was on holiday and (former English soccer player) Tony Adams, who was about 16 at the time and his dad saw me knocking the ball around and thought that I had real potential as a footballer. I'd been totally obsessed by the game for years so they arranged for me to have a trial. But my dad thought that I was too young, and it would have meant moving to London from our home in Port Talbot (in south Wales).  He said if I was still interested in the game when I was 16, I could take the chance to play. But by that time I'd started acting, and I realised that was what I really wanted to do."  http://www.pr-inside.com/sheen-the-soccer-star-r149670.htm

Two years later he discovered the reviews of Kenneth Tynan and the films of Laurence Olivier.  "The combination of those two things kind of blew my head off," says Sheen.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/06/06/btsheen06.xml   Michael joined the Glanafan's Drama Club in comprehensive school and had roles in Scrooge, Oliver!, The Wizard Of Oz and in Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood under the direction of Mr. Ken Tucker, who helped many young teens develop confidence in themselves. 

At the age of 14 Michael joined the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre , the premier youth theatre company in Wales.  Along with other teenaged students, he traveled throughout Wales on his school holidays and took part in plays in neighboring towns.  Acting started to overshadow football and became his life pursuit, although he continued to play football through comprehensive school.

Once he turned 18, Michael entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).  His love of football followed him to RADA, and he joined the RADA football team and became team captain.  Football games at RADA were very physical as some were trying to prove themselves.  Michael once described them as some of the most violent games he's ever played.

He excelled at RADA and was awarded the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award in his second year for consistently outstanding performances.  Michael left RADA in 1991 to take up a role in When She Danced, alongside Vanessa Redgrave. 

Michael remains a very physical actor today.  Michael claims Olivier inspired his taste for daredevil athleticism onstage.  "To this day I'm constantly nicking stuff I've read about Olivier."    Although he has dabbled in directing, he says, “I really prefer acting for now. I’ve directed a few things, but I’ve got a different kind of mentality. I’m not patient enough to do it.”

As a voice actor, Michael Sheen has read several works of classic literature for Naxos Audio Books. He's also contributed to many programs for BBC Radio 4 and World Service.

In 2007, Michael was invited by the Board of Governors to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  The AMPAS is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Motion_Picture_Arts_and_Sciences

On July 6, 2007 the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), the National Conservatoire of Wales, bestowed upon Michael an Honorary Fellowship at a Ceremony in St David’s Hall.

Michael attended a lavish party thrown in his honor at Blanco's Hotel in December 2007 that allowed him to meet with several of charitable organizations that he supports, including Treat Trust, Friends of Neath Port Talbot Hospital and the Welsh College of Music and Drama.  Hotel manager Clive Hopkins surprised Michael by naming the function room The Michael Sheen Suite.

 

            

 

In January 1999 Michael Sheen became a father of daughter Lily with Kate Beckinsale.  Michael and Ms Beckinsale are very successfully showing the world how to raise a well-adjusted, happy child after the breakup of a child's parents.  Hats off to you both!

Michael, his daughter Lily and Ms Beckinsale all appear in the film Underworld: Evolution (2006). “It's lovely that there's one film that she, her mother and I are all in at the same time. That's a nice family memento to have for years to come."   http://www.superiorpics.com/michael_sheen/

 

 

          

The Web site wishes all the best to Michael in the future!