Where did Michael Sheen's philanthropic ideology come from?
Non-religious. Not a nepo baby. Grew up in a small rough town surrounded by smoke from the steel works. What kind of upbringing would raise a poor Welsh boy to grow up wanting to do good and clear up million pounds of debts for 900 strangers?
NATURE AND NURTURE: Michael's parents, Meyrick and Irene Sheen, already did charity works as a couple even before he was born, and continue to do so afterwards. They were nice and honest steelworkers (i have read countless of praises from their acquaintances and co-workers on FB) who taught Michael the importance of love and empathy and the bravery to act on it. Even though his family was poor, Michael never felt like they were lacking anything because of his parents' positivity. When baby Michael pointed at the steel works and asked what are they, his mum said that they are "fairy palaces". His empathy towards children in need stems from having a safe and loved childhood on a Welsh hill by the sea. Port Talbot was also a very close-knitted community, so Michael grew up among the companionship of the townspeople and received their support throughout his acting career. From local amateur operatic society to his grand to go to RADA, Port Talbot raised Sheenie just like that phrase "It takes a village".
(photo credit: bushybirches on X/Twitter)
GENDER ROLES AND FEMALE INFLUENCE: Michael noticed signs of gender inequality very early on: even though Meyrick and Irene worked the same job as "personnel" (HR), their titles were completely different as his dad was called "manager" while his mom was "secretary". The boys in his school were taught music, while the girls weren't. Strong women has been carrying The Sheen Family for decades. From Mary Sheehan who fended for her 6 children moving from Ireland to Wales, to Nanny Blower - the first ever female elephant and lion tamer. The Sheens also lived close together as an extended family, so other than his mum, Michael also had his grandmothers and aunts as female role models. His aunt was the one who introduced Michael to David Bowie ⚡️ Matriarchy rules: His parents always gave his sister Joanne better clothings for fancy dress parties. The Sheens see his cousin Caroline (a musical actor) as the bigger star between them two. Michael himself recognized that women had far fewer job opportunities in the creative industries and wanted to create more opportunities for them through his Welsh National Theatre.
FIRST ENCOUNTER: Michael's first experience with death was not within his family, but that of a friend. He was in primary school, where a fellow boy tragically fell off a cliff. He was told the news at the school bus stop. I imagine it was shocking for a small child to learn that his friend was gone, and the community had to deal with that pain without any professional help. The fallen boy's mom herself became a grief counselor before her funding got cut. Port Talbot not having enough money for grief counseling was one of the reasons Michael returned to Wales and supports the Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice.
FIGHT, NOT FLIGHT: Growing up in a rough industrial town, Michael learned to defend himself very early on. Most fights happen on and off the football fields, where players from other schools would wait outside to hit Michael and his teammates. Sheenie boy would pick up corner flags as weapons, and fought his way home. His instinct when being cornered has always been to fight back. GOD BLESS THE NHS: Michael was born with a calcium deficiency in his teeth, and later suffered a ruptured appendix at the age of 7 during a visit to his grandparents in Newport. Adding to that numerous injuries from his football days, Sheenie was fortunate to receive free healthcare thanks to Aneurin Bevan. His time living in America likely only made Michael appreciate the NHS even more. SEEING AND HEARING: During his time as a drama student in London, Michael saw and experienced discrimination, homelessness, mental health problems, and how the lower-class always gets the short end of the stick. After graduating from RADA, Sheenie would often stop on his way to work to talk to homeless people, get to know them and their stories, recognize that homelessness is inhumane and give them a quite big amount of his money even though he was just a newcomer:
At one point, witnessing so much misery and injustice made him want to leave behind everything and go live in a car:
There was an interview where Michael said he had a near-death experience back when he was 24, but refused to elaborate on it. He also wrote a Christmas poem as a gift to his family when he was 25, but it was so "terribly earnest" that they were sadden and Michael stopped writing poetry completely.
HOLLYWOOD HOOK: Back when he was still with Kate Beckinsale, Michael was struggling in America as his RADA training and Shakespearean background couldn't even get him the role of "Tech guy #1" in Alien vs Predator. He was even jobless for months. Michael decided to come back to the UK to gain back his momentum and provide for Lily. Then he became a star with his portrayal of ex-PM Tony Blair, and returned to America as a successful actor. Hollywood tempted him with money and power. Michael experienced both the high and the low of the most glorious hill in the world, and chose to keep his dignity.
(photo credit: bushybirches on X/Twitter)
Instead of using his fame to do more for himself, Sheenie began to collab with charities and help others. Most notably are his work with UNICEF refugees, women and children. He flew to Lebanon, Chad and Syria to see for himself the condition they live in and listen to their experiences. He was Soccer Aid's Rest Of The World team captain for 8 years. He wrote articles (like this one on HuffPost: Five Years of War and Heartbreak: Why We All Must Do More to Keep Syria's Children Safe) and went on the news to spread awareness. He funded the 2019 Homeless World Cup because he could not let 500 homeless players from all over the world not getting their chances. He actually puts money where his mouth is.
PEOPLE'S PRINCE: In 2011, when National Theatre Wales asked him to perform for their first ever play, Michael pulled off the 72-hour The Passion Of Port Talbot, an idea stemming from memory of local Passion plays he had seen as a child. Doing the play opened his eyes to what was happening in Wales. After returning to his homeland from Hollywood, Michael Sheen a.k.a. The First Not-For-Profit Actor In The World has established his own one-man social enterprise and helped countless of causes in Wales. Namely Mab Gwalia, A Writing Chance, and Welsh National Theatre. It has now come to the point that people would come up to him to ask about policies instead of their actual town mayors.
If there is anything about Sheenie, it's that he would ACTUALLY LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. So yes, Michael Sheen's extensive philanthropic work stems from the upbringing he received from his family and his life experience.
