Michael Sheen was born in Newport, Wales, the only son of Irene (Thomas) and Meyrick Sheen. He grew up in the working-class town of Port Talbot, Wales, where his parents worked in personnel and shared with him a deep appreciation for acting. Meyrick Sheen, his father, later enjoyed some success as a Jack Nicholson impersonator.
As a young man, Michael Sheen turned down the opportunity to pursue a professional football career, opting instead to attend the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He won the coveted Laurence Olivier Bursary for consistently outstanding performances in his second year.
Sheen landed a pivotal role opposite stage legend Vanessa Redgrave in Martin Sherman's "When She Danced" (1991) while still studying at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He left school early to make his West End debut and has been dazzling audiences and critics with his intense and passionate performances ever since.
Among his most memorable roles were "Romeo" in "Romeo and Juliet", the title role in Yukio Ninagawa's 1994 Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of "Peer Gynt", and "Jimmy Porter" in a 1994 regional staging in a 1999 London revival of "Look Back in Anger".
In 1993, Sheen joined the troupe "Cheek By Jowl" and was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for his performance in "Don't Fool with Love". He also excelled as a mentally unstable man who becomes enmeshed in a kidnapping plot in Mystery!: Gallowglass (1993),a three-part BBC serial.
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