Michael Sheen
Michael Sheen
The Twilight Saga, The Queen, Frost/Nixon, 30 Rock
Recognized as one of the most talented of the new generation of British actors, Michael Sheen is equally accomplished on stage and screen.
He has been seen - and heard - in a wide range of performances: in the high-tech adventure Tron; as Brian Clough in The Damned United, the darkly humorous story of confrontational former Leeds United boss' doomed 44-day tenure as manager of the reigning champions of English football in 1974, which he received accolades in both the US and in the UK; as Aro, the leader of the vampire royalty Volturi, in the blockbuster The Twilight Saga: New Moon; the voice of the white rabbit in Tim Burton's blockbuster Alice in Wonderland; his Emmy nominated starring role in the last of the Tony Blair trilogy, The Special Relationship, which premiered on HBO; and a recurring role as a love interest for Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) on the hit comedy show, 30 Rock.
Other film credits include: Beautiful Boy with Mario Bello as a married couple on the verge of separation when they must deal with the news that their son committed a mass shooting at his college before taking his own life; Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight in Paris, about a family traveling to the French capital for business, with a cast that includes Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, and Kathy Bates; he played David Frost in Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon which received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Picture; and he was also in The Rise of the Lycans, the prequel to the popular Underworld franchise.
Another notable film role came in Music Within, the story of Richard Pimentel, an early champion of the rights of the disabled and a primary activist behind the Americans with Disabilities Act. Michael played Pimentel's best friend, Art, a wheelchair-bound genius who uses his wit to deflect prejudice associated with his twisted form.
Prior to Music Within, he was featured in Ed Zwick's Blood Diamond opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, and as Prime Minister Tony Blair in Stephen Frears' acclaimed drama The Queen. Along with the film, Michael received many accolades for his performance including winning the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Michael trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where, in his second year, he won the coveted Laurence Olivier Bursary for consistently outstanding performances. While still a student at RADA, he landed a starring role opposite Vanessa Redgrave in 1991's When She Danced which marked his West End debut. Since then, he earned an Olivier Award nomination for his performance as Mozart in the West End production of Peter Hall's revival of Amadeus and went on to make his Broadway debut in the 1999 U.S. production.
He also received Olivier Award nominations for his performances in Look Back in Anger and Caligula for which he won a London Critics Circle Award and the London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor in 2003. He has also received acclaim for his performances in such plays as Romeo and Juliet, Peer Gynt, and Henry V. From October 2011 until January 2012, he played the title role in Hamlet at the Young Vic in London.
On television, his credits include his heartbreaking portrayal of performer Kenneth Williams in the BBC's Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! for which he received a BAFTA nomination and the 2006 Royal Television Society Best Actor Award. He also received a 2005 BAFTA nomination for his performance in Dirty Filthy Love, a drama in which he starred as an architect struggling to live with his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
In 2007, he starred on Broadway in the hit Frost/Nixon and received a Distinguished Performance Award nomination from the Drama League for his work.
In January 2009, Michael Sheen was announced on The Queen's annual honor list as being appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to the arts.
Coming in 2012, Michael stars opposite Toni Collette in the comedy Jesus Henry Christ. Based on writer/director Dennis Lee's Student Academy Award-winning short film of the same name, Michael Sheen plays Dr. Slavkin O'Hara, a professor and best-selling author who seems to have it all though at the expense of his only daughter. He will also be seen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2; The Gospel of US, a film version of the Passion Play that was performed throughout Michael's hometown of Port Talbot, Wales in Easter 2011; and in an Untitled Terrence Malik Project alongside Rachel McAdams, Jessica Chastain, Rachel Weisz, Ben Affleck, Amanda Peet, and Javier Bardem.
In early 2012, Michael starred in Showtime's drama pilot Masters of Sex (not yet released) portraying 1960s human sexuality pioneer William Masters opposite Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson. The project is an adaptation of Thomas Maier's book "Masters of Sex: The Life And Times Of William Masters And Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love".
Michael Sheen at the Internet Movie Database