Michael Sheen: Actor or Impersonator?

Michael Sheen is a fantastic actor, of that there is no doubt. I have yet to see him give a poor performance. But something worries me, and that is that his screen presence and skills could be overshadowed by the fact he has a habit of playing real-life people, and doing it so well he’s made his name for it.

Sheen is currently playing Brian Clough in The Damned United, a movie based on the book of the same name. It charts the short time the legendary league manager was in charge of Leeds United. The reviews are coming in and most say that the film is good, and Sheen gives another top notch performance. Surprise surprise.

Sheen made his name playing Tony Blair in The Deal, a TV drama detailing the gentleman’s agreement that Blair and Gordon Brown came to over being Prime Minister. He played Blair again in The Queen, and is set to do so again The Special Relationship.

Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! was another TV drama, in which Sheen played Kenneth Williams, the former Carry On star. And lest we forget Sheen putting in a stunning performance as David Frost in last year’s Frost/Nixon.

The point is that Sheen has created himself a niche for playing real-life people, and doing so with a high degree of accuracy. But in doing so, he could also have dug himself a hole in which he will be typecast in these impersonator-type roles at the expense of other projects.

This would be a shame because Sheen is clearly an all-rounder, as his appearances in Underworld and Blood Diamond show. I think Sheen should move on from Blair and possibly the real-life roles altogether. Only then will he truly be rated as the actor we all know he has the capacity to be.