Born:
April 17, 1959
in
Sheffield
Best Known For:
Blunt-talking soldier Sharpe.
Early-life:
Born Shaun Mark Bean in Sheffield on April 17, 1959, the elder of two children. A fanatical Sheffield United supporter with "100% Blade" tattooed on his shoulder, he left school at 16 with two O-Levels. His first job was working for his father's welding firm, and while he was doing a day-release course at college he stumbled on an acting class. He was later accepted into Rada and made his professional stage debut in 1983 as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury.
Career:
Sean worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company before making his TV debut in a 1984 episode of The Bill. Roles in The Fifteen Streets, Stormy Monday and Patriot Games followed before Lady Chatterley and the first Sharpe TV movies made him a household name in 1993. Other work includes A Woman's Guide to Adultery, Bravo Two Zero, GoldenEye, Ronin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Equilibrium, Troy, National Treasure and HBO TV series Game of Thrones. He is one of Hollywood's most sought-after character actors and always has a number of productions in the pipeline.
Quote:
"I don't have any problems with women seeing me as their ideal bit of 'rough'. Why would I?"
Trivia:
He has voiced characters in a number of video games.