Michael Sheen, actor

Oct 26, 2025

Michael Sheen, the award-winning Welsh actor known for playing historical figures, shares his unique journey from a football scout's dream to the stage and screen. He discusses preparing for iconic roles like Aneurin Bevan and explores the emotional depths of his characters, including Kenneth Williams. The conversation dives into his family legacy in performance and the transformative community impact of The Passion in Port Talbot. Sheen also reflects on the resonant power of music, highlighting Ultravox's 'Vienna' and Peter Gabriel's evocative scores.

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ADVICE

Use Public Acts To Spotlight Issues

Use creative stunts to expose hidden social problems, as Sheen did by buying distressed debt to highlight high-cost credit.
Partner with groups and publicise the act to shift attention and start systemic conversations.

ANECDOTE

Dad Became A Jack Nicholson Impersonator

Michael recounts his father Myrick winning a Jack Nicholson lookalike contest and becoming an international impersonator.
His dad even travelled to premieres and sometimes replaced Nicholson in events, creating unforgettable family stories.

INSIGHT

Youth Arts Shaped A Generation

Growing up in Port Talbot and its youth arts infrastructure shaped Michael's career more than he realised at the time.
Local funded youth programs created rare opportunities that launched many successful performers from the area.

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Michael Sheen is an award-winning actor.

After finding his love for the stage with the West Glamorgan Youth theatre as a teenager, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

He spent the 1990s making a name for himself as a stage actor, shining in the classics from Romeo and Juliet to Peer Gynt as well as in 20th century masterpieces such as Look Back in Anger and Amadeus, receiving several Olivier Award nominations along the way.

A relocation to the US in the early 2000s with his then partner, the actress Kate Beckinsale, and their young daughter Lily prompted a move into films. His breakthrough came in 2003 when he portrayed Tony Blair in a Stephen Frears film called The Deal. It was the beginning of what became an unlikely specialism: morphing into real people from recent history: Kenneth Williams, David Frost, Brian Clough, Chris Tarrant, and Prince Andrew – with two more outings as Tony Blair thrown in for good measure.

Michael was born in Newport, South Wales, in February 1969, the eldest of two children to Meyrick and Irene. He grew up in Port Talbot from the age of eight and considers it his hometown.

His first love was football, and he was spotted as youngster by an Arsenal talent scout to play for their youth team. His parents decided against moving the family to London and he turned to acting instead and graduated from RADA in 1991.

Alongside the classic dramas, his range extends to appearing in fantasy and science fiction films such as The Twilight Saga and Tron: Legacy.

Michael has said that the most meaningful project to him was a modern restaging of the passion play in Port Talbot in 2011, which involved the participation of a thousand local people, because it opened his eyes to the difficulties many of them were experiencing. He has since used his own money to fund the 2019 Homeless World Cup in Cardiff and set up an organisation which supports community groups.

Michael lives in Wales with his partner, the actress Anna Lundberg, and their two young daughters.

DISC ONE: Vienna - Ultravox DISC TWO: The Ecstasy Of Gold - Ennio Morricone DISC THREE: Desire - Talk Talk DISC FOUR: Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones DISC FIVE: Ready for Drowning - Manic Street Preachers DISC SIX: Passion - Peter Gabriel DISC SEVEN: Dark Secret - Lau DISC EIGHT: Oh Yeah - Yello

BOOK CHOICE: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell LUXURY ITEM: A football CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Vienna - Ultravox

Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

There are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We have cast away other notable actors including Sir Anthony Hopkins and some of the people Michael has played including Kenneth Williams, Chris Tarrant and Tony Blair. You can find all those episodes and more by searching BBC Sounds.