The enthralling and brilliant Michael Sheen is a renowned acting chameleon in Hollywood, appearing in a wide array of genres and riveting pictures. The esteemed and gifted performer has had a successful career on both the big and small screen, and got his start in the theater after training at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Throughout the 1990s, Sheen had countless notable roles in stage productions of Romeo and Juliet, Henry V and Amadeus, before fully devoting himself to his cinematic aspirations.
While he appeared in the popular vampire franchises Twilight and Underworld, his work as a screen actor is most closely associated with roles in biographical films, with the star portraying famous faces like U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen, David Frost in Ron Howard’s gripping drama Frost/Nixon, and as controversial football manager Brian Clough in The Damned United. Sheen would go on to further appear in critically-acclaimed films like Midnight in Paris, Blood Diamond, and Tron: Legacy.
Most recently, Sheen has had a dynamite television run with captivating roles as an incarcerated serial killer in Prodigal Son, the award-winning Showtime series Masters of Sex, and alongside David Tennant in the fantasy comedy show Good Omens and with him again in the funny British show Staged. In 2021, the prominent star announced that he would be giving his future earnings to charity, declaring himself a “not-for-profit actor.” These are some of Michael Sheen’s best movies.
9 Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
The 2009 action horror flick Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the third installment in the Underworld franchise and serves as a prequel to the original, heavily focusing on the origins of the characters and events that led up to the Vampire-Lycan war. In the thrilling picture, Michael Sheen stars as Lucian, a werewolf dubbed the first of the lycans who emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise against the cruel vampire king Viktor.
On his decision to reprise the exciting role, Sheen has said, “My rule of thumb is that I want to do things I’d like to go and see myself.” The actor’s character was heavily featured in the film, and was given a more in depth and engrossing backstory than what was showcased in Underworld. Sheen’s performance garnered rave reviews, with The New York Times proclaiming he was “the movie’s greatest asset…taking a lively break from his usual high-crust duties to bring wit, actual acting and some unexpected musculature to the goth-horror flick.”
8 Tron: Legacy
Joseph Kosinski’s spectacular 2010 sci-fi action film Tron: Legacy serves as a sequel to the 1982 original and follows the son of a virtual world designer who goes to search for his father and ends up inside the digital world the innovator designed; while there, he meets the corrupt and malevolent program Clu and rare ally born in the unique realm.
The big-screen extravaganza features the talent of Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, and Olivia Wilde, with Michael Sheen appearing as Zuse/Castor, a flamboyant supermodel program who serves as Clu’s right-hand man and chief intelligence officer. The actor described his performance as containing elements of famous figures such as David Bowie, Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Joel Grey from Cabaret. Tron: Legacy was a box office success and earned praise for the talented cast, visual effects and production design and has since been described as a cult film.
7 Apostle
The 2018 Netflix period horror film Apostle tells the chilling story of a determined drifter on a dangerous mission to rescue his sister from a sinister religious cult on a remote and isolated Welsh island. The terrifying picture stars Michael Sheen as the enigmatic co-founder and leader of the nefarious cult, Malcolm Howe, who will take any extremes necessary to protect his power and hold over its members. Malcolm goes head-to-head with Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens), the former missionary who has lost his faith and will do anything to ensure the safety of his dear sister.
One of the best religious horror movies of recent years, Apostle premiered at Fantastic Fest before being available for streaming on Netflix, and proved to be a hit with both viewers and critics; the edgy Gareth Evans’ project was heralded by Bloody Disgusting, with the horror-genre website writing, “Evans departs from his usual action fare to weave a gripping story centered around a unique Pagan-like mythology steeped in blood and sacrifice. It’s folk horror, but with a new level of brutality and viscera unlike most of its ilk.”
6 The Special Relationship
HBO’s 2010 British-American drama The Special Relationship amplifies the political career of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his relationship with the President of the United States Bill Clinton. It is the third film in screenplay writer Peter Morgan’s informal “Blair Trilogy,” and features Michael Sheen reprising his role as Blair in addition to Dennis Quaid as Clinton. The subtle drama, one of the best biopic movies from HBO, takes place between the years of 1997 and 2001, focusing on the international activities of Blair and his interactions with his American ally.
Sheen previously portrayed the famous figure in both The Deal and The Queen, and felt a greater scope to portray Blair than in the previous installments; he said, “This was interesting because it covers a much bigger period of time for the character. It allowed me to explore more things I wasn't able to explore in the other films and take it further.” The Special Relationship earned numerous Emmy, Satellite and Golden Globe Award nominations, and was well-received by critics.
5 Midnight in Paris
Director Woody Allen helmed the Oscar-winning 2011 fantasy comedy Midnight in Paris, which centers on screenwriter Gil Pender as he is forced to confront his shortcomings of his relationship with his materialistic fiancé and their conflicting goals, disparities that are heavily emphasized when he magically travels back in time each night at midnight. Alongside one of Owen Wilson's best performances, Rachel McAdams and Marion Cotillard headline the fantasy, with Michael Sheen appearing in a supporting role as the dull know-it-all Paul Bates, who the actor described as “someone who’s just absolutely got no sense that he’s overstepping the mark or that he’s being a bore.”
To conceptualize the picture, Allen employed a reverse approach in writing its screenplay by crafting the comedy’s plot around a preconceived movie title ‘Midnight in Paris;’ he revealed at a press conference that he wanted to “show the city emotionally” and that “I just wanted it to be the way I saw Paris — Paris through my eyes.”
4 Blood Diamond
Edward Zwick’s engrossing 2006 political war thriller Blood Diamond is set during the Sierra Leone Civil War of 1991 to 2002, and depicts a country torn apart by the intense struggle between government loyalists and insurgent forces while highlighting the atrocities of the war. The gripping film features an impressive cast of Hollywood stars including Leonardo DiCaprio at his best, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, and Michael Sheen, with the latter portraying a crooked and corrupt diamond dealer.
Charles Leavitt wrote the screenplay for Blood Diamond, doing so under the assumption that it would offend the diamond industry, and so he made sure to portray the industry as truthful as possible to avoid being sued. The intense thriller was a smash hit at the box office and with critics, going on to nab five Academy Award nominations; Slate commended Blood Diamond, writing, "Zwick is craftsman enough that the pace never slackens, the chase scenes thrill, and the battle scenes sicken. And if it makes viewers think twice about buying their sweethearts that hard-won hunk of ice for Christmas, so much better."
3 The Damned United
Adapted from David Peace’s bestselling biographical novel of the same name, the 2009 British sports drama The Damned United tells the fascinating story of the controversial Brian Clough’s 44-day tenure as the coach of the English football club Leeds United in 1974. Michael Sheen stars as the polarizing sports figure, calling Clough the real-life character he enjoyed playing the most due to his complexity.
His exceptional performance earned widespread praise from critics and was deemed to be his finest by many, with Variety noting that his “typically scrupulous channeling of Clough gets the tics and the mannerisms right, but also carves a moving portrait of a braggart suddenly out of his depth.” Despite controversy due to the historically inaccurate movie, The Damned United earned appreciation for its fresh and insightful take on the well-known British figure and its emotionally-driven execution of the toil of the sport.
2 Frost/Nixon
The highly-regarded director Ron Howard directed the 2008 historical drama Frost/Nixon, revealing the captivating story of the notorious post-Watergate interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon as they engage in an on-screen battle of wits. Featuring Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon, the sharp and weighty picture details the unexpectedly candid and deeply revealing conversations presented before the court of public opinion, while shining a light on the power struggle between the two.
Frost/Nixon is based on the 2006 play of the same name, reuniting both Sheen and Langella who originated the respective roles on stage; Howard only agreed to direct the project if the studio allowed both actors to return for the film version. Sheen had agreed to reprise the character as a favor to Howard and the writer Peter Morgan, telling The Guardian, “But I thought, I don’t know if this works, I don’t know if anyone’s interested, and Frost is a really boring part. I never thought it was going anywhere.” Despite his reservations, Frost/Nixon earned rave reviews and nabbed the actor a nomination for a Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Actor.
1 The Queen
The immensely talented Helen Mirren stars as Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 British biographical drama The Queen, depicting the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and the controversial response of the royal family and contrasting views of Prime Minister Tony Blair and Diana’s ex-husband Prince Charles. Martin Sheen once again shines as Blair, and serves as the actor’s third collaboration with director Stephen Frears; he opened up about the pressures of playing real life people, describing it as a “real responsibility: you’re dealing with someone’s actual life. People, rightly or wrongly, are going to look at what you do and believe that’s what happened.”
The Queen garnered both critical and popular acclaim, with Mirren winning the Oscar for Best Actress and Sheen earning accolades including a Toronto Film Critics Association Award. The biopic appeared on many U.S. top ten films’ lists, with famed Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers commending Sheen for “a sensational performance, alert and nuanced.”