Michael Sheen Says He's Now a 'Not-for-Profit' Actor & Will Donate His Future Earnings to Social Projects

Michael Sheen is opening up about his acting career.

The 52-year-old Good Omens actor has said that he is no longer seeking to profit from his acting jobs and will use his earnings to fund social projects.

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Michael said in an interview with The Big Issue that he had been inspired to make the change after experiencing some life-changing moments, which led him to turn himself into “a social enterprise, a not-for-profit actor.”

“I’ve realized in the last few years that I want to be one of those people who help other people the way so many people helped me,” he explained. “I don’t want to just be someone who enjoys the fruits of what other people have done and then pull the drawbridge up.”

He continued, “I’m at the stage of my life and career where I have a window of opportunity that will probably never be this good again. I’m able to get people in a room, I can open doors. I don’t want to look back and think, I could have done something with that platform. I could have done something with that money.”

Michael went on to say that his role in the National Theatre production of The Passion in 2011 was a “turning point” for him.

“That project involved the entire town and it was a big awakening for me. I got to know people and organizations within my hometown that I didn’t know existed. Little groups who were trying to help young carers, who had just enough funding to make a tiny difference to a kid’s life by putting on one night a week where they could get out and go bowling or watch a film and just be a kid,” the Welsh actor said.

“I would come back to visit three or four months later, and find out that funding had gone and that organization didn’t exist anymore,” he added. “I wanted to help those people. I didn’t just want to be a patron or a supportive voice, I wanted to actually do more than that.”

Another motivating factor was the Homeless World Cup, a soccer tournament held in Cardiff, Wales in 2019. Michael supported the event and when he heard it may be cancelled due to a shortage of funding, he realized he needed to help.

“I had to make a decision – I could walk away from it, and it wouldn’t happen. And all those people from all around the world who were banking on coming to have this extraordinary experience, maybe a life-changing experience, wouldn’t have it. I thought ‘I’m not going to let that happen,’” he said.

He ended up fronting the money himself in order to save the tournament. “I had a house in America and a house [in the U.K.] and I put those up and just did whatever it took. It was scary and incredibly stressful. And I’ll be paying for it for a long time,” he shared.

“When I came out the other side I realized I could do this kind of thing and, if I can keep earning money it’s not going to ruin me. There was something quite liberating about going, alright, I’ll put large amounts of money into this or that, because I’ll be able to earn it back again. I’ve essentially turned myself into a social enterprise, a not-for-profit actor,” he concluded.

Last year, Michael revealed that he had given back his Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), which was awarded to him by Queen Elizabeth in 2009. Find out why…