Sean Bean
{{short description|English actor (born 1959)}}
{{pp-blp|small=yes}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sean Bean
| image = AV0A6306 Sean Bean.jpg
| caption = Bean in 2017
| birth_name = Shaun Mark Bean
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1959|4|17}}
| birth_place = Sheffield, England
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1983–present
| spouse = {{ubl
| {{marriage|Debra James|1981|1988|end=div}}
| {{marriage|Melanie Hill|1990|1997|end=div}}
| {{marriage|Abigail Cruttenden|1997|2000|end=div}}
| {{marriage|Georgina Sutcliffe|2008|2011|end=div}}
| {{marriage|Ashley Moore|2017}}
}}
| children = 3
}}
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of Romeo and Juliet in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre.{{cite web |title=The Watermill Theatre – MY WATERMILL STORY by late Artistic Director, Jill Fraser MBE |url=https://www.watermill.org.uk/my_watermill_story_by_jill_fraser_mbe_2009-12-02 |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=www.watermill.org.uk}} Retaining his Yorkshire accent, he first found mainstream success for his portrayal of Richard Sharpe in the ITV series Sharpe, which originally ran from 1993 to 1997.
Bean made his film debut in the historical drama Caravaggio (1986) and received further attention for his roles in Stormy Monday (1988) and Patriot Games (1992). He played the main antagonist Alec Trevelyan in the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995) and had a supporting role in the action thriller Ronin (1998). Bean achieved international recognition for portraying Boromir in the fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003). Following the success of Lord of the Rings, Bean appeared in a variety of films, including in the science fiction Equilibrium (2002), the heist National Treasure (2004), Odysseus in the historical war epic Troy (2004), the mystery thriller Flightplan (2005), the action horror Black Death (2010), and the science fiction The Martian (2015).
Bean's television roles include the BBC anthology series Accused and Broken, Ned Stark in the HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones, and the ITV historical drama series Henry VIII and Legends. As a voice actor, he has been featured in the video games The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Sid Meier's Civilization VI, and the feature films Wolfwalkers and Mummies among others. Since 2002, Bean has been the main voiceover for O2 adverts. In 2022, he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for Time, a BBC One drama.{{cite web | url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/baftas-tv-awards-2022-winners-newsupdate/?p | title=BAFTA TV Awards 2022 winners: Full list of winners and nominees}}
Early life
File:Sheffield Legends Sean Bean.jpg plaque in Bean's home city of Sheffield.]]
Shaun Mark Bean{{cite web |url=https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/sean-bean-age-world-fire-3364078 |title=How old is Sean Bean? 23 surprising facts about Somerset-based World on Fire actor |last=Kendall |first=Ellie |date=29 September 2019 |website=Somerset Live |access-date=1 October 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001095116/https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/sean-bean-age-world-fire-3364078 |archive-date=1 October 2019}} was born in the Handsworth suburb of Sheffield on 17 April 1959,{{cite web | title=Sean Bean. Biography, news, photos and videos | website=hellomagazine.com | date=22 November 1984 | url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/sean-bean/ | access-date=20 October 2020}} the son of Rita (née Tuckwood) and Brian K. Bean (born 1934).{{cite web|title=Sean Bean Biography|url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/sean_bean_biog.html|page=1|publisher=Tiscali|access-date=14 September 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813194004/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/sean_bean_biog.html|archive-date=13 August 2006}}{{cite web|url=https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/famous-family-trees-sean-bean-1406264593.html|title=Famous family trees: Sean Bean|publisher=Find My Past|date=22 July 2013|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323154647/https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/famous-family-trees-sean-bean-1406264593.html|archive-date=23 March 2018|url-status=live}} He has a younger sister, Lorraine. His paternal grandfather, Harold Bean Jr. (1914–2001), served in the Royal Navy in the Second World War{{cite news|last=Pharo|first=Jen|date=19 September 2019|title=Sean Bean on becoming a war hero turned conscientious objector in BBC drama|work=The Express|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1179714/sean-bean-film-bbc-world-on-fire/amp|access-date=20 July 2020}} and was a stud mill labourer who later became a pacifist. His father owned a fabrication company that employed 50 people, including Bean's mother, who worked as a secretary. Despite becoming relatively wealthy, the family never moved away from the council estate as they preferred to remain close to friends and family.{{cite news|title=I do my work and if things work out, they work out|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/03/14/bfbean14.xml&page=4|publisher=Telegraph Group|page=4|date=14 March 2006|access-date=16 September 2006|location=London|first=Cassandra|last=Jardine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013164108/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2006%2F03%2F14%2Fbfbean14.xml&page=4|archive-date=13 October 2007|url-status=dead}} As a child, Bean smashed a glass door during an argument, which left a piece of glass embedded in his leg that briefly impeded his walking, and left a large scar. This prevented him from pursuing his ambition of playing football professionally.{{cite news |last=Clarke |first=Hayley |date=20 June 2021 |title=BBC Time star Sean Bean's savage scar from Harrison Ford that actually gave him his big TV break |url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/celebs/bbc-time-star-sean-beans-20853302 |work=MyLondon |access-date=21 June 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621192843/https://www.mylondon.news/news/celebs/bbc-time-star-sean-beans-20853302 |archive-date=21 June 2021}}
Bean first attended a local school, Handsworth Junior School, before going to Athelstan School until he was 12, when he went to study at Brook School.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsHpj5FJXjI&t=99s |title=Sean Bean Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions |magazine= WIRED|via=YouTube }} In 1975, Bean left Brook Comprehensive School with O levels in Art and English.{{cite web |title=Sean Bean – actor |url=http://www.southessex.co.uk/bios/richardsharpe.htm |publisher=Sharpe Appreciation Society |access-date=14 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916042225/http://www.southessex.co.uk/bios/richardsharpe.htm |archive-date=16 September 2006}} After a job at a supermarket and another for the local council, he started work at his father's firm. Once a week, he attended Rotherham College of Arts and Technology to study welding.{{cite news |title=Sean Bean honoured on Sheffield walk of fame |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8463167.stm |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=16 January 2010 |access-date=28 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215161047/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/8463167.stm |archive-date=15 February 2015}} While at college, he came upon an art class, and decided to pursue his interest in art. After attending courses at two other colleges, one for half a day and the other for less than a week, he returned to Rotherham College, where he enrolled in a drama course. After some college plays and one at Rotherham Civic Theatre, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), starting a seven-term course in January 1981.
Career
=1983–1994: Early work, ''Sharpe''=
Bean graduated from RADA in 1983, making his professional acting debut later that year as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury. His early career involved a mixture of stage and screen work. As an actor, he adopted the Irish spelling of his first name. His first national exposure came in an advert for Barbican non-alcoholic lager.{{cite web|title=Barbican Ad|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/barbican.html|date=26 December 1999|access-date=24 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005224640/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/barbican.html|archive-date=5 October 2006|url-status=live}} In 1984, he starred in David and Jonathan by William Douglas-Home at the Redgrave Theatre in Farnham.{{cite web|url=https://www.compleatseanbean.com/dj-press2.html|title=Royal Night at the Redgrave|website=www.compleatseanbean.com|access-date=10 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215184057/http://compleatseanbean.com/dj-press2.html|archive-date=15 December 2010|url-status=live}} Between 1986 and 1988, he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in productions of Romeo and Juliet, The Fair Maid of the West, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.Trowbridge, Simon. The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Oxford: Editions Albert Creed (2010) {{ISBN|978-0-9559830-2-3}}{{cite web|url=http://www.stratfordians.org.uk/|title=The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the RSC: Supplementary Material}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} He appeared in his first film, Derek Jarman's Caravaggio (1986), opposite Tilda Swinton, playing Ranuccio Tomassoni, followed by the same director's War Requiem (1988). He had the protagonist role in Stormy Monday (1988), directed by Mike Figgis. In 1989, he starred as the evil Dominic O'Brien in The Fifteen Streets, where he gained a dedicated following.{{cite news |title=Bringing Cookson stories to screen. |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bringing+Cookson+stories+to+screen.-a0287145956 |work=Evening Chronicle |date=21 April 2012 |access-date=8 June 2024}}
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Bean became an established actor on British television.{{cite web|title=MSN Movies|url=http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity/sean-bean/|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=14 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803203031/http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity/sean-bean/|archive-date=3 August 2008|url-status=dead}} In 1990, Bean starred in Jim Sheridan's adaptation of the John B. Keane play The Field. Also in 1990, his role as the journalist Anton in Windprints examined the difficult problems of apartheid in South Africa. He appeared in the BBC productions Clarissa (1991) (with Saskia Wickham and Lynsey Baxter) and Lady Chatterley (1993) (with Joely Richardson).{{cite news|last=Hockney|first=Karen|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/sharpe-still-cuts-it-lq3hf5wb83t|title=Sharpe still cuts it|work=The Times|date=22 April 2006|access-date=2 July 2017|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904084648/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sharpe-still-cuts-it-lq3hf5wb83t|archive-date=4 September 2018|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}} In 1996, he combined his love of football with his career to finally achieve his childhood dream of playing for Sheffield United, starring as Jimmy Muir in the film When Saturday Comes.{{cite news|title=When Saturday Comes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/136095/When-Saturday-Comes/overview|access-date=4 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305141711/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/136095/When-Saturday-Comes/overview|archive-date=5 March 2016|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|author=Michael Betzold|date=2016|url-status=dead}} Although the film was not critically acclaimed, Bean received credit for a good performance.{{cite web|title=When Saturday Comes review |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_saturday_comes/articles/814231/despite_being_stuffed_with_cliches_when_saturday_comes_is_emotionally_rewarding_experience_and_not_only_for_those_viewers_who_are_in_love_with_the_most_popular_sport_in_the_world |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=14 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013092930/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_saturday_comes/articles/814231/despite_being_stuffed_with_cliches_when_saturday_comes_is_emotionally_rewarding_experience_and_not_only_for_those_viewers_who_are_in_love_with_the_most_popular_sport_in_the_world |archive-date=13 October 2008}} In August 1997, Bean appeared in what became a famous Sky Sports commercial for the upcoming 1997–98 Premier League season.{{cite news|title=A look back at the best Sky ads from the past 20 years|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2009/feb/04/rupertmurdoch-bskyb|agency=The Guardian|date=23 June 2015|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927171254/https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2009/feb/04/rupertmurdoch-bskyb|archive-date=27 September 2016|url-status=live}} His football-related work continued in 1998 when he narrated La Coupe de la Gloire, the official film of the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France.{{cite web|url=http://www.fifafilms.com/fileadmin/fifafilms/user_upload/pdf/FIFAFilms_Factsheet_March_2012_very_low_res.pdf |title=FIFA World Cup and Official FIFA Events: Programming |website=FIFAfilms.com |date=March 2012 |page=7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417225504/http://www.fifafilms.com/fileadmin/fifafilms/user_upload/pdf/FIFAFilms_Factsheet_March_2012_very_low_res.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=28 January 2013}}
Bean's critical successes in Caravaggio and Lady Chatterley contributed to his emerging image as a sex symbol, but he became most closely associated with the character of Richard Sharpe, the maverick Napoleonic Wars rifleman in the ITV television series Sharpe. The series was based on Bernard Cornwell's novels about the Peninsular War, and the fictional experiences of a band of soldiers in the famed 95th Rifles. Starting with Sharpe's Rifles, the series followed the fortunes and misfortunes of Richard Sharpe as he rose from the ranks as a Sergeant, promoted to Lieutenant in Portugal, to Lieutenant Colonel by the time of the Battle of Waterloo.
Bean was not the first actor to be chosen to play Sharpe. As Paul McGann was injured while playing football two days into filming, the producers initially tried to work around his injury, but it proved impossible and Bean replaced him. The series ran continuously from 1993 to 1997, with three episodes produced each year. It was filmed under challenging conditions, first in Ukraine and later in Portugal. After several years of rumours, more episodes were produced: Sharpe's Challenge (2006) and Sharpe's Peril (2008).{{cite web|title=Sharpe rumours|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/rumour-sharpe.html|access-date=16 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901111652/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/rumour-sharpe.html|archive-date=1 September 2006|url-status=live}} Both of these were released as two cinema-length 90-minute episodes per series.{{cite web|url=http://www.sharpefilm.com/home/ |title=Sharpe's Challenge official website |website=sharpefilm.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126034238/http://www.sharpefilm.com/home/ |archive-date=26 November 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=4 March 2012}} With a role as enigmatic Lord Richard Fenton in the TV miniseries Scarlett, Bean made the transition to Hollywood feature films. His first notable Hollywood appearance was that of an Irish republican terrorist in the 1992 film adaptation of Patriot Games. While filming his death scene, Harrison Ford hit him with a boat hook, giving him a permanent scar. Bean's rough-cut looks made him a patent choice for a villain, and his role in Patriot Games was the first of several villains that he would portray, all of whom die in gruesome ways.
=1995–2011: ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''Game of Thrones''=
In the 1995 film GoldenEye, Bean portrayed James Bond's nemesis Alec Trevelyan (MI6's 006).{{cite web | url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a434498/sean-bean-on-great-honour-of-playing-a-james-bond-villain-video.html | title=Sean Bean on 'great honour' of playing a James Bond villain | work=Digital Spy | date=30 October 2012 | access-date=17 August 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103084011/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a434498/sean-bean-on-great-honour-of-playing-a-james-bond-villain-video.html | archive-date=3 November 2013 | url-status=live}} He played the weak-stomached Spence in Ronin (1998), a wife-beating ex-con in Essex Boys (2000), and a malevolent kidnapper/jewel thief in Don't Say a Word (2001). He was also widely recognised as villainous treasure hunter Ian Howe in National Treasure, and played a villainous scientist in The Island (2005). In the independent film Far North, he plays a Russian mercenary who gets lost in the tundra and is rescued by an Inuit woman and her daughter, whom he later pits against one another.{{cite news |last=French |first=Philip |date=9 April 1991 |title=Far North |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/dec/28/far-north-review |work=The Guardian |access-date=11 April 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411012559/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/dec/28/far-north-review |archive-date=11 April 2021}}
Bean's most prominent role was as Boromir in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His major screen time occurs in the first instalment, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He appears briefly in flashbacks in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, as well as in a scene from the extended edition of The Two Towers. Before casting finished, rumours circulated that Jackson had considered Bean for the role of Aragorn, but neither Bean nor Jackson confirmed this in subsequent interviews. Bean's fear of flying in helicopters caused him difficulties in mountainous New Zealand, where the trilogy was filmed. After a particularly rough ride, he vowed not to fly to a location again; in one instance, he chose to take a ski lift into the mountains while wearing his full costume (complete with shield, armour, and sword) and then hike the final few miles.{{cite web|title=Flightplan interview |url=http://www.ugo.com/channels/filmtv/features/flightplan/bean.asp |access-date=14 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210104757/http://www.ugo.com/channels/filmtv/features/flightplan/bean.asp |archive-date=10 February 2007}}{{cite interview |last=Bean |first=Sean |interviewer=Jonathan Ross |title=Sean Bean on the Jonathan Ross Show |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yel3Y1KqTZ8&t=2m00s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/yel3Y1KqTZ8| archive-date=29 October 2021|access-date=12 May 2017}}{{cbignore}}
Other roles gave more scope for his acting abilities. In 1999's Extremely Dangerous, his character walked a fine line between villain and hero.{{cite web|title=Sean Bean Biography|url=http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/fulldetail/id/188770|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125125313/http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/fulldetail/id/188770|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 January 2013|publisher=Hollywood Media Corporation|access-date=14 September 2006}} He became a repentant, poetry-reading Grammaton cleric who succumbs to his emotions in 2002's Equilibrium, a quirky alien cowboy in 2003's The Big Empty, and a sympathetic and cunning Odysseus in the 2004 film Troy. He appeared with other Hollywood stars in Moby's music video "We Are All Made of Stars" in February 2002.{{cite web |title=We are all made of Stars |url=http://www.full-of-beans.net/media/moby-video/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020605074814/http://www.full-of-beans.net/media/moby-video/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 June 2002 |access-date=24 September 2006}} In the same year, he returned to the stage in London performing in Macbeth.{{cite web|title=The Compleat Sean Bean|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com|access-date=18 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060920201625/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/|archive-date=20 September 2006|url-status=live}} Due to popular demand, the production ran until March 2003.{{cite web |url=https://playbill.com/article/west-end-macbeth-extends-through-march-2003-com-110184 |title=West End Macbeth Extends Through March 2003 |date=14 December 2002 |website=Playbill |access-date=18 September 2006}} In 2005, Bean had sizeable roles in the films Flightplan and North Country.
Bean has done voice-over work, mostly in the British advertising industry.{{cite news|title=Voice that's earning a bean or two...|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-61.html|publisher=Sheffield Today|format=reprint|date=11 November 2003|access-date=24 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005235827/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-61.html|archive-date=5 October 2006|url-status=live}} He has featured in television adverts for O2, Morrisons and Barnardos as well as for Acuvue and the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States. He also does the voice-over for the National Blood Service's television and radio campaign. Bean has also filmed a TV ad for Yorkshire Tea, a United Kingdom brand of tea.{{cite news |last1=Blow |first1=John |title=Sean Bean and Dynamo Yorkshire Tea adverts receive 'thousands of lovely comments' |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/sean-bean-and-dynamo-yorkshire-tea-adverts-receive-thousands-lovely-comments-440583 |access-date=25 July 2021 |agency=The Yorkshire Post |publisher=Yorkshire Post Newspapers (JPIMedia) |date=8 July 2019}} For the role playing video game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, he voiced Martin Septim.{{cite web|title=Bethesda Softworks Taps Hollywood Voice Talent |url=http://www.xbox365.com/news.cgi?id=GGuLdLLrGH09300940 |publisher=Bethesda Softworks |access-date=24 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118150348/http://www.xbox365.com/news.cgi?id=GGuLdLLrGH09300940 |archive-date=18 November 2006}} Bean's distinctive voice has also been used in the intro and outro segments of the BBC Formula 1 racing coverage for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Bean completed a one-hour pilot, Faceless, for US television. He has also appeared in Outlaw (2007), an independent British remake of the 1986 horror film The Hitcher; here he used an American accent again. In 2009, he appeared in the Red Riding trilogy as the malevolent John Dawson. He also appeared in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), playing the role of Zeus, the king of Mount Olympus and god of the sky, thunder, and lightning. Also that year, Bean starred in Cash, playing the lead role of Pyke Kubic, a dangerous man determined to recover his wealth in a bad economy. Cash explored the role money plays in today's hard economic times. Bean also played the villain's twin brother, Reese. Bean starred in the first season of Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin, playing the part of Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1656152/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-hbo.jhtml |title='Game Of Thrones' Star Sean Bean On Playing 'A Good Man For A Change' |date=18 January 2011 |work=MTV |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122031827/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1656152/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-hbo.jhtml |archive-date=22 January 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=20 April 2011}} Bean and Peter Dinklage were the two actors whose inclusion show runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss considered necessary for the show to become a success, and for whose roles no other actors were considered. His portrayal won him critical praise; as The A.V. Club{{'s}} reviewer put it, he "portrayed Ned as a man who knew he lived in the muck but hoped for better and assumed everyone else would come along for the ride."{{cite news|last=VanDerWerff|first=Emily|title="Baelor" (for experts)|url=https://www.avclub.com/game-of-thrones-experts-baelor-for-experts-1798168546|access-date=6 October 2019|newspaper=The A.V. Club|date=13 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105123048/http://www.avclub.com/articles/baelor-for-experts,57424/|archive-date=5 November 2013|url-status=live}} HBO's promotional efforts focused on Bean as the show's leading man and best-known actor.{{cite news |last=Rose |first=Steve |date=15 April 2011 |title=Game Of Thrones: The Sopranos with swords or Dynasty in chainmail? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/apr/15/game-of-thrones-hbo-sean-bean |work=The Guardian |access-date=13 June 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613225732/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/apr/15/game-of-thrones-hbo-sean-bean |archive-date=13 June 2015}}{{cite news |last=Mulkerrins |first=Jane |date=18 April 2011 |title=Sean Bean on Game of Thrones |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8453959/Sean-Bean-on-Game-of-Thrones.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=18 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423013716/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8453959/Sean-Bean-on-Game-of-Thrones.html |archive-date=23 April 2011}}
=2012–present: Further film and television roles=
File:Martian PC 16 (21361983221).jpg's The Martian, 2015 Toronto Film Festival.]]
In 2012, Bean appeared in four films: Soldiers of Fortune; Cleanskin, in which he plays a secret service agent faced with the task of pursuing and eliminating a suicide bomber and his terrorist cell; Tarsem Singh's Snow White adaptation, Mirror Mirror; and the sequel Silent Hill: Revelation, in which he reprised his role as Christopher Da Silva.{{cite web|title=Sean Bean Back For Silent Hill Sequel|url=http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=30423|publisher=Empire Online|access-date=17 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119001338/http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=30423|archive-date=19 January 2012|url-status=live}} Also that year, Bean co-starred in the ABC drama series Missing, and appeared as cross-dressing teacher Simon in the opening episode of the second season of UK television series Accused, a role which would earn him a Royal Television Society best actor award.{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Anthony |title=Royal Television Society Programme Awards: Sean Bean wins best actor gong for cross-dressing teacher role |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/royal-television-society-programme-awards-sean-bean-wins-best-actor-gong-cross-dressing-teacher-role-8541683.html |access-date=25 July 2021 |agency=The Independent |publisher=Independent Digital News & Media Ltd |date=20 March 2012}}{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/03/16/sean-bean-missing/ |title=Sean Bean talks 'Missing' future after pilot shock |last=Hibberd |first=James |date=16 March 2012 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=18 October 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018081939/https://ew.com/article/2012/03/16/sean-bean-missing/ |archive-date=18 October 2015}}
Bean starred in the espionage television series Legends as Martin Odum, an FBI agent who takes on various fabricated identities to go undercover. The show was canceled after its second season. An intensive viral marketing campaign was centred on the hashtag #DontKillSeanBean, focusing on the various deaths of his past characters and promising his character in Legends would not suffer the same fate.{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3045528/dontkillseanbean-sean-bean-comic-con-tnt/|title=#DontKillSeanBean Campaign Aims to Save Actor From Yet Another Onscreen Death|magazine=Time|access-date=23 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717130329/http://time.com/3045528/dontkillseanbean-sean-bean-comic-con-tnt/|archive-date=17 July 2015|url-status=live}} The campaign culminated with a Funny or Die exclusive video featuring Bean filming a scene for the show where he's become so accustomed to dying on screen that he expects his character to die a bizarrely gruesome death despite the simplicity of the scene.{{cite web|url=http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/76e05c074e/tnt-legends|title=Sean Bean Death Scene|access-date=23 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723232657/http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/76e05c074e/tnt-legends|archive-date=23 July 2015|url-status=live}}
From 2015 to 2017, Bean starred in the ITV Encore drama series The Frankenstein Chronicles.{{cite web |first=Michael |last=Hogan |title=The Frankenstein Chronicles, review: 'eerily effective' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11989543/The-Frankenstein-Chronicles-review-eerily-effective.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=11 November 2015 |access-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828010535/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11989543/The-Frankenstein-Chronicles-review-eerily-effective.html |archive-date=28 August 2019 |url-status=live}} In that time, he also starred in multiple notable films including Jupiter Ascending, Pixels, and The Martian. In 2017, Bean starred in the BBC series Broken as the troubled priest Father Michael Kerrigan, which earned him a BAFTA award for Best Actor.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44104430|title=Bafta TV Awards: The night in pictures|date=13 May 2018|access-date=14 December 2020|work=BBC News}} In 2019, Bean played a damaged veteran in the TV drama World on Fire, basing his interpretation on his late paternal grandfather.{{cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1179714/sean-bean-film-bbc-world-on-fire/amp|title=Sean Bean on becoming a war hero turned conscientious objector in BBC drama |website=www.express.co.uk|access-date=15 December 2020}}
On 31 May 2020, Bean appeared on Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart which reunites the cast of popular movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities. The episode saw Bean reunited with fellow Lord of the Rings castmates Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, and Elijah Wood, plus composer Howard Shore, writer Philippa Boyens and director Peter Jackson.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/actor-josh-gad-reunites-stars-of-lord-of-the-rings-while-raising-money-for-kids-in-need/|title=Actor Josh Gad reunites stars of "Lord of the Rings" while raising money for kids in need|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=June 2020 }}
In 2021, the actor was reunited with Jimmy McGovern (author of Broken and Accused) and Stephen Graham (his co-star in Tracie's Story) for the 3-part BBC prison drama Time.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-12-09/sean-bean-stephen-graham-time-siobhan-finneran/|title=First look at Sean Bean and Stephen Graham in Time as Siobhan Finneran joins cast|work=Radio Times|access-date=15 December 2020}}
Bean starred alongside Nicola Walker in Stefan Golaszewski's drama series Marriage (2022), which opened to mixed reviews from both critics and viewers.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/sean-bean-marriage-bbc-reactions-b2145134.html|title=Marriage: BBC viewers divided over slow, realist Sean Bean drama|website=The Independent|last=Harrison|first=Ellie|date=14 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/marriage-sean-bean-nicola-walker-bbc-b2145117.html|title=Marriage is largely tedious – Sean Bean's new TV series finally gets it|website=The Independent|last=Sturges|first=Fiona|date=14 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/aug/14/tv-tonight-sean-bean-and-nicola-walker-marriage-bbc-one|title=TV tonight: Sean Bean and Nicola Walker argue over a jacket potato|website=The Guardian|date=14 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/14/marriage-on-bbc-review-sean-bean-is-soulful-in-acting-masterclass-17179465/|title=Marriage on BBC review: Sean Bean and Nicola Walker deliver acting masterclass in authentic relationship study|website=Metro|last=East|first=Ben|date=14 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/marriage-bbc-tv-review-sean-bean-b2143905.html|title=Marriage review: Sean Bean and Nicola Walker's marital non-drama will bore you to tears|website=The Independent|last=Hilton|first=Nick|date=14 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022}}
In 2025, he played the main role of Ronnie Phelan, head of a drug dealer family, alongside Julie Graham, and Jack McMullen, playing his wife and son, and James Nelson-Joyce, his number two, in the BBC Liverpool based gangster television series This City Is Ours (2025).{{cite web|url= https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/tv/sean-bean-walked-away-from-bbc-series-this-city-is-ours-really-upset/ar-AA1BRAQv?ocid=BingNewsSerp |title= Sean Bean walked away from BBC series This City Is Ours 'really upset' |publisher=msn.com |work=Liverpool Echo|author=Sara Baalla|date=28 March 2025|access-date=29 March 2025}}
Public image
=Personality=
Bean is often described as "down to earth" and has retained his Yorkshire accent. He says that he does not mind being considered as a "bit of rough" by women.{{cite news|title=The Andrew Duncan Interview|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-77.html|format=reprint|work=Radio Times|date=11 May 1996|access-date=29 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006000213/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-77.html|archive-date=6 October 2006|url-status=live}} He has developed a reputation as a loner, a label that he considers unfair. He has described himself instead as quiet, and interviewers confirm that he is a "man of few words",{{cite web|first=Winona|last=Kent|title=The Interview|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/interview1.html|work=The Compleat Sean Bean|location=Vancouver, BC|year=2001|access-date=23 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904205837/http://compleatseanbean.com/interview1.html|archive-date=4 September 2013|url-status=live}} with one interviewer calling him "surprisingly shy".{{cite news|first=Amy |last=Raphael|title=Sean Bean's Brutal Role in Red Riding|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date= 17 February 2009}} He admits that he can be a workaholic; he reads books or listens to music in his spare time, and is a skilled pianist. He is also a keen gardener, welder, and sketcher.{{cite news|title=The Thinking Woman's Bit of Rough|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-98.html|format=reprint|publisher=Ms London Magazine|first=Mary|last=Black|date=8 August 2005|access-date=14 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912001903/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-98.html|archive-date=12 September 2006|url-status=live}} Popular in his home county, a 2018 poll for Yorkshire Day saw Bean ranked the second greatest Yorkshireman ever behind Monty Python comedian, and fellow Sheffielder, Michael Palin.{{cite news |title=Ed Sheeran named among the greatest Yorkshiremen of all time |url=https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/lifestyle/ed-sheeran-named-among-the-greatest-yorkshiremen-of-all-time/31/07/ |access-date=26 August 2019 |work=London Economic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827213747/https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/lifestyle/ed-sheeran-named-among-the-greatest-yorkshiremen-of-all-time/31/07/ |archive-date=27 August 2019 |url-status=live}}
=Acting style=
Despite being professionally trained, Bean adopted an instinctive style of acting that some say makes him especially well-suited to portraying his characters' depths.{{cite news|title=Sheffield Steel|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-66.html|format=reprint|publisher=Vogue|date=June 2004|access-date=11 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318230219/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-66.html|archive-date=18 March 2012|url-status=live}} He has said that the most difficult part is at the start of filming when trying to understand the character.{{cite web|title=Sean Bean: The Interview|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/interview1.html|access-date=11 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904205837/http://compleatseanbean.com/interview1.html|archive-date=4 September 2013|url-status=live}} After achieving this, he can snap in and out of character instantly. This ability to go from the quiet man on set to the warrior Boromir "amazed" Sean Astin during filming of The Fellowship of the Ring.The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, "Cast Commentary", region 2 Other fans include directors Mike Figgis and Wolfgang Petersen, who described working with Bean as a "beautiful thing".
=Deaths of characters=
For many years, Bean's characters died on screen, a phenomenon that gained notoriety on the internet and in The Lord of The Rings, Game of Thrones and James Bond fandoms and had become an Internet meme.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08/11/the-many-deaths-of-sean-bean |title=The Many Deaths of Sean Bean |last=Fowler |first=Matt |date=11 August 2014 |website=IGN |access-date=22 August 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728130855/https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08/11/the-many-deaths-of-sean-bean |archive-date=28 July 2017}} Bean's favourite on-screen death is Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring: "I thought his death was very heroic and triumphant and poignant. It had pathos."{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/sean-bean-best-death/ |title=Sean Bean reveals which of his character deaths he thinks is the best ever |last=Ling |first=Thomas |date=17 September 2019 |website=Radio Times |access-date=19 September 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225031814/https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/sean-bean-best-death/ |archive-date=25 February 2021}} In September 2019, Bean revealed that he had begun turning down roles that would have his character killed because his screen death had become predictable.{{cite web|url=https://mymodernmet.com/sean-bean-dies-in-every-movie/|title=Actor Sean Bean Has Died 23 Times on Screen, Announces He Won't Be Doing That Anymore|last=Barnes|first=Sarah|date=24 September 2019|work=My Modern Met}}{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/5683156/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-death-scene/ |title='Game of Thrones' and 'Lord of The Rings' Actor Sean Bean Says He's Now Rejecting Roles Where He's Killed |first=Madeleine |last=Carlisle |date=21 September 2019 |magazine=Time}}
Personal life
Bean has been married five times and divorced four times. He married his secondary school sweetheart Debra James on 11 April 1981, and they were divorced in 1988. He met actress Melanie Hill at RADA, and they were married on 27 February 1990. Their first daughter was born in October 1987, and their second was born in September 1991. Their marriage ended in divorce in August 1997. During the filming of Sharpe, Bean met actress Abigail Cruttenden, and they were married on 22 November 1997. Their daughter was born in November 1998. They were divorced in July 2000. In addition to his three children, Bean has four grandchildren.{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/sean-bean-another-baby-yes-that-would-be-nice-szq3j8w3p |title=Sean Bean family |access-date=21 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224072840/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sean-bean-another-baby-yes-that-would-be-nice-szq3j8w3p |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live |last1=Billen |first1=Andrew}}
Bean began dating actress Georgina Sutcliffe in 2006. After cancelling their planned January 2008 wedding on the eve of the ceremony for "personal reasons", he married Sutcliffe at the Marylebone Town Hall in London on 19 February 2008.{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/celebrity-wedding-venue-popular-with-sir-paul-mccartney-and-liam-gallagher-reopens-after-60m-a3653566.html|title=Celebrity wedding venue popular with Sir Paul McCartney and Liam Gallagher reopens after £60m renovation|date=9 October 2017|publisher=Evening Standard|access-date=16 May 2020}} During allegations that Bean physically abused Sutcliffe in 2009, domestic disturbances resulted in the police being called to their home in Belsize Park on three occasions. Bean and Sutcliffe's separation was announced on 6 August 2010,{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalledger.com/ledgerpop/article_272633804.shtml|title=Sean Bean To Divorce|publisher=National Ledger|date=7 August 2010|access-date=9 August 2010}} and a decree nisi was granted on 21 December 2010.{{cite news|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/12/22/16640886-wenn-story.html|title='LOTR' star divorces for a fourth time|date=22 December 2010|publisher=Canoe Inc|access-date=13 April 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710063926/http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/12/22/16640886-wenn-story.html|archive-date=10 July 2012|url-status=usurped}} He married Ashley Moore on 30 June 2017.{{cite web|last=Powell|first=Emma|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-ties-the-knot-for-fifth-time-and-celebrates-with-a-beer-a3577206.html|title=Game of Thrones star Sean Bean ties the knot for fifth time – and celebrates with a beer|work=London Evening Standard|date=30 June 2017|access-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701045035/http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-ties-the-knot-for-fifth-time-and-celebrates-with-a-beer-a3577206.html|archive-date=1 July 2017|url-status=live}}
Bean has been a fan of Sheffield United (the "Blades") since he was eight years old, and has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads "100% Blade".{{cite web|url=http://www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/sean-bean/biography/113|title=Sean Bean – Biography|publisher=TalkTalk|access-date=5 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018151126/http://www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/sean-bean/biography/113|archive-date=18 October 2012|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Sean Bean Profile |url=http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/item/aid/527925 |publisher=UKTV Interactive Limited |access-date=14 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090711084659/http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/item/aid/527925 |archive-date=11 July 2009}} He opened their Hall of Fame in 2001 and, after making a six-figure contribution to the club's finances, was on their board of directors between 2002 and 2007 to help raise the profile of the club. He stepped down in 2007 to "go back to being an ordinary supporter" where he feels at home.{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/sean-bean-quits-blades-1-227837|title=Sean Bean quits Blades|work=The Star|date=11 December 2007|access-date=5 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902091805/http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/sean-bean-quits-blades-1-227837|archive-date=2 September 2012|url-status=live}} During his time there, he allegedly had a dispute with Neil Warnock, former manager of Sheffield United, after Warnock claimed that Bean stormed into his office and shouted at him in front of his wife and daughter when the club had just been relegated from the Premier League. Bean denies it, calling Warnock "bitter" and "hypocritical".{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/sports/warnock+sean+bean+swore+at+my+son/641552|title=Warnock: 'Sean Bean swore at my son'|date=31 July 2007|publisher=Channel 4 News|access-date=2 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111045237/http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/sports/warnock+sean+bean+swore+at+my+son/641552|archive-date=11 January 2010|url-status=live}} He wrote the foreword and helped to promote a book of anecdotes called Sheffield United: The Biography.{{cite news |title=Sheffield United: The Biography |url=http://www.sufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/PromotionsDetail/0,,10418~934782,00.html |publisher=FL Interactive |access-date=23 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112155101/http://www.sufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/PromotionsDetail/0%2C%2C10418~934782%2C00.html |archive-date=12 January 2009}} He also follows Yorkshire County Cricket Club.{{cite news|title=Its hard being a sex symbol!|url=http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-55.html|format=reprint|publisher=Woman's Own|date=13 January 2003|access-date=15 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901115238/http://www.compleatseanbean.com/mainfeatures-55.html|archive-date=1 September 2006|url-status=live}}
Bean has a tattoo of the number nine on his shoulder, written using Tengwar, in reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings films and the fact that his character was one of the original nine companions of the Fellowship of the Ring. Seven of the other actors of "The Fellowship" (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, and Viggo Mortensen) have the same tattoo, while John Rhys-Davies, whose character was also one of the original nine companions, arranged for his stunt double to get the tattoo instead.{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/video/watch/autocomplete-inverviews-sean-bean-answers-the-web-s-most-searched-questions|title=Sean Bean Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions|website=Wired|date=19 April 2019|accessdate=26 November 2024}}{{cite web| url =http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue348/interview.html |title = The stars of The Lord of the Rings trilogy reach their journey's end| publisher =SciFi.com| access-date =31 May 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070306100400/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue348/interview.html |archive-date = 6 March 2007|url-status=dead}}
Aligned with the British left, in 2015 Bean expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn and for "old Labour", the era before Tony Blair rebranded the party as New Labour; Bean also spoke of his admiration for Tony Benn.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sean-bean-says-jeremy-corbyn-is-sticking-up-for-the-working-class-and-talks-a-lot-of-sense-a6719251.html|title=Sean Bean says Jeremy Corbyn is 'sticking up for the working class' and 'talks a lot of sense'|last=Stone|first=Jon|date=3 November 2015|work=The Independent|access-date=3 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104154646/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sean-bean-says-jeremy-corbyn-is-sticking-up-for-the-working-class-and-talks-a-lot-of-sense-a6719251.html|archive-date=4 November 2015|url-status=live}}
Bean is a Christian{{cite news |last=Larsen|first=Peter |date=11 March 2016 |title=Actor Sean Bean talks 'The Young Messiah,' the story of Jesus Christ as a child |newspaper=Orange County Register |url=https://ocregister.com/2016/03/11/actor-sean-bean-talks-the-young-messiah-the-story-of-jesus-christ-as-a-child |access-date=19 July 2020}} and a gardener in his spare time.{{cite news |last=Pharo|first=Jen |date=19 September 2019 |title=Sean Bean on becoming a war hero turned conscientious objector in BBC drama |newspaper=Daily Express |url=https://express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1179714/sean-bean-film-bbc-world-on-fire |access-date=20 July 2020}}
Filmography
=Film=
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1984
| The Bill | Horace Clark | Episode: "Long Odds" |
| 1985
| Exploits at West Poley | Scarred Man | Television film |
| 1986
| Terry Donlan | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 1988
| The Prince | Episode: "The True Bride" |
| Troubles
| Capt. Bolton | Television film |
| 1989
| Prince | Episode: "Musicians" |
| rowspan="3" | 1990
| Vic | Episode: "Small Vones" |
| Lorna Doone
| Carver Doone | Television film |
| Wedded
| Man | Television film |
| rowspan="3" | 1991
| 4 Play | Smith | Episode: "In the Border Country" |
| Screen One
| Gabriel Lewis / Jack Morgan | 2 episodes |
| Clarissa
| Lovelace | 4 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 1992
| Alex Bailey | Episode: "Absolute Conviction" |
| Fool's Gold: The Story of the Brink's-Mat Robbery
| Micky McAvoy | Television film |
| My Kingdom for a Horse
| Steve | Television film |
| rowspan="4" | 1993
| Sergeant/Lieutenant Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| Sharpe's Eagle
| Captain Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| Lady Chatterley
| Mellors | 4 episodes |
| A Woman's Guide to Adultery
| Paul | 3 episodes |
| rowspan="5" | 1994
| Jacob | Esau | Television film |
| Sharpe's Company
| Captain Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| Sharpe's Enemy
| rowspan=2 |Major Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| Sharpe's Honour
| Television film |
| Scarlett
| Lord Richard Fenton | 3 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| rowspan="3" | Major Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| Sharpe's Battle
| Television film |
| Sharpe's Sword
| Television film |
| rowspan="4" | 1996
| Narrator | Documentary |
| Sharpe's Regiment
| rowspan="5" | Major Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| Sharpe's Siege
| Television film |
| Sharpe's Mission
| Television film |
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| Television film |
| Sharpe's Justice
| Television film |
| Sharpe's Waterloo
| Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| 1998
| The Canterbury Tales | The Nun's Priest | Voice |
| rowspan="3" | 1999
| Andy McNab | Television film |
| Extremely Dangerous
| Niel Bryne | 4 episodes |
| The Vicar of Dibley
| Himself | Episode: "Spring" |
| 2003
| Television film |
| 2004
| Pride | Dark | Voice |
| rowspan="2" | 2006
| Faceless | Eddie Prey | Unaired pilot |
| Sharpe's Challenge
| Sergeant/Colonel Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| 2007
| Once Upon a Time in Iran | Narrator |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Crusoe | James Crusoe | 4 episodes |
| Sharpe's Peril
| Colonel Richard Sharpe | Television film |
| 2009
| John Dawson | 2 episodes |
| 2010
| {{sortname|The|Lost Future}} | Amal | Television film |
| 2011
| 9 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2012
| Missing | Paul Winstone | 8 episodes |
| | Accused
| Simon / Tracie | Episode: "Tracie's Story" |
| 2013
| Portrait Griffin | Voice |
| 2014
| Doctor Doom / North / Heathcliff | Voice |
| 2014–2015
| Legends | Martin Odum | 20 episodes; also producer |
| 2015–2017
| John Marlott | 12 episodes; also co-producer |
| 2015
| Sean Bean on Waterloo | Himself (Presenter) | Documentary |
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| Wasted | Sean Bean | 6 episodes |
| Roman Empire: Reign of Blood
| Narrator | Voice |
| rowspan="2" | 2017
| Broken | Father Michael Kerrigan | 6 episodes; also executive producer |
| Yorkshire: A Year in the Wild
|Narrator |Voice |
| rowspan="3" | 2018
|8 episodes |
| The Oath
| Tom Hammand | 10 episodes |
| Sally4Ever
| Sean Bean | Episode #1.7 |
| rowspan="2" | 2019
| Curfew{{cite web |last1=Clarke |first1=Stewart |title=Sean Bean to Star in Sky's Street-Racing Drama 'Curfew' |url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/sean-bean-sky-street-racing-curfew-1202676467 |website=Variety |access-date=9 February 2019 |date=25 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117065202/https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/sean-bean-sky-street-racing-curfew-1202676467/ |archive-date=17 January 2019 |url-status=live}} | Errol "The General" Chambers | 6 episodes |
| World on Fire
| Douglas Bennett | 7 episodes |
| 2020–2024
| Snowpiercer{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6156584/|title=Snowpiercer|date=17 May 2020|via=IMDb}}{{cite web |last1=Petski |first1=Denise |title='Snowpiercer': 'Game Of Thrones' Alum Sean Bean Joins Season 2 Of TNT Drama As New Series Regular |date=31 October 2019 |url=https://deadline.com/2019/10/snowpiercer-game-of-thrones-sean-bean-season-2-tnt-drama-series-regular-1202773199/}} | Mr. Wilford | 24 episodes |
| 2021
| Time{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2020/jimmy-mccgovern-drama-time|title=Sean Bean and Stephen Graham to star in new Jimmy McGovern drama Time for BBC One|website=bbc.co.uk|date=14 September 2020|access-date=22 December 2020}} | Mark Cobden | 3 episodes; also executive producer |
| 2022
| Marriage | Ian |
| 2024
| 2 episodes |
| 2025
| Ronnie Phelan |
| {{TableTBA}} |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Voice role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | GoldenEye 007 | Alec Trevelyan | Likeness |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Boromir | |
| 2006 | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Martin Septim | |
| 2012 | Lego The Lord of the Rings | Boromir | |
| rowspan="2" | 2013 | Papa Sangre II | Narrator / Guide | |
| Train Simulator 2014 | rowspan="6"| Narrator | rowspan="2"| Marketing trailer only | |
| 2014 | Train Simulator 2015 | ||
| rowspan="2" |2015 | Kholat | ||
| | Life Is Feudal | |||
| 2016 | Sid Meier's Civilization VI | ||
| rowspan="2" | 2018 | Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Rise and Fall | ||
| Hitman 2 | Mark Faba | Voice and likeness | |
| rowspan="2" | 2019 | Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm | rowspan="2"| Narrator | |
| A Plague Tale: Innocence | Marketing trailer only |
=Music videos=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Artist ! Title !width=108| Role | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Moby | "We Are All Made of Stars" | Himself |
=Voice over=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Brand ! Project !width=108| Role | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–present | O2 | TV adverts | Voice over |
Awards and honours
In his home city of Sheffield, he has received several honours and acclaims, including an honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 1997 and a Doctor of Letters in English Literature from the University of Sheffield in July 2007.{{cite web|url=http://www.superiorpics.com/sean_bean/|title=The Sean Bean Picture Pages|access-date=14 September 2006|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204013936/http://www.superiorpics.com/sean_bean/|archive-date=4 February 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Sheffield University|url=http://www.shef.ac.uk/mediacentre/seanbean.html|access-date=20 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910011304/http://www.shef.ac.uk/mediacentre/seanbean.html|archive-date=10 September 2007|url-status=live}} He was selected as one of the inaugural members of Sheffield Legends (the Sheffield equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame) and a plaque in his honour has been placed in front of Sheffield Town Hall.{{cite web|title=Sean Bean Sheffield Legends|url=https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/out--about/tourist-information/sheffield-legends/sean-bean.html|access-date=4 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107051235/https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/out--about/tourist-information/sheffield-legends/sean-bean.html|archive-date=7 November 2013}} Bean commented: "I did get a doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University about 11 or 12 years ago so now I'm a double doctor. But this was wonderful, especially from my home city."
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|last=Trowbridge |first=Simon |title=The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company |location=Oxford |publisher=Editions Albert Creed |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-9559830-2-3}}
External links
{{Commons category|Sean Bean}}
- {{IMDb name|293}}
- {{discogs artist|Sean Bean}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Sean Bean
|list =
{{British Academy Television Award for Best Actor}}
{{International EmmyAward Actor}}
{{RTS Programme Award for Best Performance by a Male Actor}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bean, Sean}}
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male Shakespearean actors
Category:English male stage actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English male voice actors
Category:International Emmy Award for Best Actor winners
Category:Labour Party (UK) people
Category:Male actors from Sheffield
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners