Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Michael Sheen
Actor
Speaker Biography
Michael has proved himself equally accomplished on both stage and screen. His many award-winning stage performances include Caligula and Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Theatre, and Hamlet at the Young Vic. He created, co-directed, and performed in the groundbreaking three-day live event The Passion in Port Talbot for National Theatre Wales. Most recently Michael was seen in Under Milk Wood at the National Theatre.
Sheen has starred in three films nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award: The Queen, directed by Stephen Frears, Frost/Nixon, directed by Ron Howard, and Midnight in Paris, directed by Woody Allen.
He is known to millions as a vampire in The Twilight Saga films and a werewolf in the Underworld franchise. His other feature credits include The Damned United, directed by Tom Hooper; Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland; Tron: Legacy, and the critically acclaimed adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel, Far From the Madding Crowd, directed by Thomas Vinterberg; Sony’s Passengers in which he starred alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt and Home Again with Reese Witherspoon. Michael can be seen in the Netflix feature film, Apostle, as well as The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, opposite Robert Downey Jr and Sky’s Last Train to Christmas.
On television, Sheen has earned multiple awards and nominations for his performances in projects such as Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!, directed by Andy De Emmony, Dirty Filthy Love, directed by Adrian Shergold, as Tony Blair in HBO’s The Special Relationship and as Dr. Bill Masters in four seasons of the acclaimed Showtime series, Masters of Sex, on which he was also a producer. He has created memorable characterizations for NBC’s 30 Rock, HBO’s mockumentary 7 Days In Hell, the IFC miniseries spoof Spoils of Babylon, and Michael Bolton’s Big Sexy Valentine’s Day Special for Netflix. The Good Fight, aired on CBS, had him play Roland Blum, a character that had made quite an impression on audiences.
Further television credits include Prodigal Son, Amazon Prime’s Good Omens, based on the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. The series includes Michael and David Tennant lead as the unlikely duo made of an angel and a demon. Season 2 of Good Omens has now reached post-production and a release date is yet to be confirmed. He portrayed Chris Tarrant in ITV’S Quiz, a 3-epsiode serial, directed by Stephen Frears; in which he acted alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Sian Clifford. Michael starred alongside David Tennant in two series’ of the critically acclaimed lockdown comedy Staged for BBC.
In February 2021, Michael opened ‘A Writing Chance’ with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and derived by New Writing North to support under-represented writers across the UK. They have chosen 11 writers as their first cohort to receive mentorship, bursaries and connections to industry leaders to have their stories reach a wider audience.
Michael’s upcoming project has him star alongside fellow BAFTA winner, Sharon Horgan as devoted parents in BBC’s drama, Best Interests. The four-part series is written by BAFTA winning screenwriter, Jack Thorne, whose previous work includes His Dark Materials and Help. Filming is currently underway and is set to be released on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in 2023.