Welsh electronic musician Kelly Lee Owens released today a video of her latest track ‘Corner Of My Sky’ (ft. John Cale) starring Michael Sheen, in which he deals with a toaster that makes his bread disappear.
Michael spoke in a statement about the collaboration:
I’ve loved Kelly’s music for a while now, and the opportunity to be part of a Kelly-John Cale-magic toaster holy Welsh trinity was too good to miss!
Kelly on the music video:
Ler maisI knew I wanted a visual for ‘Color of My Sky’ and having been connected to Michael Sheen earlier in the year, I dared ask if he would like to be involved. Luckily he said yes! In Wales, we live by the sentiment that ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get.’ And so a true Welsh collaboration in the form of John Cale, Michael and I was formed.
The idea for the video was changed (very) last minute by the Kasper, a Norwegian director who I have worked with on my last few videos including ‘Throwing Lines’ and ‘On‘ and it was weird, trippy and hilarious — the perfect combo! Michael’s performance alongside John’s vocals and the magic toaster portal is gold and something I’m very happy to have out in the world.
Faith Healer short run at the Old Vic as part of the In Camera project was concluded last Saturday, 19, to positive reviews. Read below what the critics are saying about the play and Michael Sheen’s performance as Francis Hardy:
In the role of Frank, Michael Sheen captures the bonhomie and charm of a born performer, who only seems to exist when he’s in front of an audience. In his second monologue, which concludes the play, Sheen reveals the pain and deep insecurity underneath Frank’s acts of self-dramatisation and the terrible consequences of Frank’s loss of faith in himself and his abilities.
Sheen (Good Omens), an actor capable of volcanic zeal and rich musical vocalism, plays the “Fantastic” Frank Hardy, itinerant layer-on of hands, who we learn is often drunk and in self-exile from his native Ireland. Frank travels to backwater villages in Wales and Scotland with his miserable wife Grace (Indira Varma) and unctuous, Cockney manger Teddy (David Threlfall).
The Guardian (4/5 stars)
Ler maisModestly billed as a “scratch” production, with sparing use of music and some occasionally jarring extreme closeups, the evening has three superb performances. As the ironically named Frank, Sheen gives as rich a delivery as you could wish of the mesmeric incantation of Welsh village names remembered from the trio’s travels. His three-piece black suit is not as shabby as Friel’s stage directions advise, but he looks dressed for a funeral, which brings its own resonance.
Michael Sheen, David Threlfall and Indira Varma discuss being back on stage at Old Vic for Brian Friel’s play. Tickets are still on sale here and can be purchased up to 24 hours before each show.
Also, check out some photos from Faith Healer rehearsals on our gallery:
Ler maisFor many, it is his greatest play. Northern Irish playwright Brian Friel’s Faith Healer (1979) is a haunting and transfixing piece of theatre: a drama that shape-shifts as tantalisingly as memory. And, like all masterpieces, it feels both timeless and timely. Yet, says actor Michael Sheen, who plays lead character Frank in a new live-streamed performance opening tonight at London’s Old Vic, “When it first came out there was a big discussion about whether it was even dramatic at all.”
“I find that extraordinary,” he adds. “It’s one of the most thrilling theatrical experiences I’ve had.”
On the surface, it’s certainly simple: a series of monologues on a near-empty stage. Three narrators — Frank, the itinerant Irish “faith healer” of the title; Grace, his wife; Teddy, his cockney manager — address us separately, recalling their ramshackle lives on the road, as they traipsed round remote parts of Scotland and Wales trying to drum up business with a shabby poster. Each character takes their turn in the limelight. At the Old Vic, Sheen heads up a stellar cast, with Indira Varma playing Grace and David Threlfall taking the part of Teddy.
The nominees of the British Academy Cymru Awards 2020 were announced earlier today. The Amazon Prime mini-series Good Omens recieved a nod in the Sound category, while Wales: Land of the Wild, the BBC documentary narrated by Michael Sheen, recieved two, for Factual Series and Original Music. Check out the nominees:
Factual Series
Cornwall: The Fishing Life
Wales: Land of the Wild / Cymru Wyllt
Warriors: Our Homeless World Cup
Ysgol Ni: Maesincla
Original Music (sponsored by Cardiff Council)
Mark Thomas for Last Summer
Jonathan Hill for The Long Song
John Hardy Music for Steel Country
Karl Jenkins & Jody Jenkins for Wales: Land of the Wild / Cymru Wyllt
Sound
Alex Ashcroft for The Last Tree
Production Team for Good Omens
Production Team for Sex Education
The ceremony will be broadcast on BAFTA’s Facebook and YouTube channels at 7 PM GMT on October 25 2020 and will be hosted by Alex Jones, the television presenter. This post will be updated once the winners are announced.
Congratulations to the teams behind both productions!
Read the interview Michael has given to the Australian newspaper about the Fox production as it comes to the country by Foxtel:
Ler maisIn Prodigal Son, Michael Sheen plays Martin Whitly, a highly intelligent, charming and cultured medical practitioner. But he’s also a serial killer, kept under close surveillance in a prison where he is visited by profiler Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne), who comes seeking insights into a copycat killer using Whitly’s murderers as a template.
There’s an unmistakable echo in all this of The Silence of the Lambs, and not only because Sheen is, like Anthony Hopkins, who played Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film, so proudly Welsh.
“One of the useful things about this story is that it touches tropes and little motifs from other shows and stories in the genre,” says Sheen, speaking via Zoom from his home in Port Talbot, Wales, where he is spending – and largely enjoying – lockdown with his partner and young child.
Today The Old Vic announced Brian Friel’s Faith Healer will be the third production in the Old Vic: In Camera live stream series, and will star Michael Sheen, David Threlfall and Indira Varma. More about the play:
Ler mais‘Just a con, isn’t it? Just an illusion, isn’t it?’
The Fantastic Francis Hardy (Michael Sheen) travels the most remote corners of Wales, Scotland and Ireland attempting to heal those who wish to be healed. His wife Grace (Indira Varma) and manager Teddy (David Threlfall) complete this nomadic triptych, each with their own telling of the loss, love and struggle of life on the road with a seemingly predestined Faith Healer.
Brian Friel’s masterful and haunting Faith Healer is a kaleidoscopic, ever shifting exploration of the power of belief, as the contradicting recollections of these three characters seek to reconcile with the past.
Faith Healer is the third in the Old Vic: In Camera live streamed performances, and will be streamed live directly from the iconic Old Vic stage with the empty auditorium as a backdrop for five performances only.
DC Comics announced today a lineup of guests to appear during DC Fandome, a virtual event for DC fans to take place for 24 hours on August 22. Michael Sheen is one of the confirmed names, and he is likely set to talk about The Sandman alongside author Neil Gaiman and director Dirk Maggs.
Check out the complete list here. This post will be updated once we have futher information.
UPDATE: Michael Sheen, Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs and G. Willow Wilson are attending “The Sandman Universe: Enter the Dreaming” panel at 10:45 AM PT/1:45 PM ET/6:45 PM GMT. Check out the complete DC Fandome schedule here (registration required).
As previously announced, Michael Sheen appeared in this year’s socially distanced edition of the BAFTA TV Awards. He and David Tennant relived their characters in Staged and presented the Best Mini-series award, which went to the HBO production Chernobyl.
Watch the clip below:
Tonight is the night of the BAFTA TV 2020 Awards, and Michael Sheen is one of the confirmed presenters. The ceremony is going to be broadcast on BBC One at 7 PM UK time. Here are some links to watch it:
Don’t forget to click on this link to find out which time it begins on your timezone.
Prodigal Son premiered last night on British channel Sky One and Michael Sheen appeared on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ earlier today to promote the show, in which he plays Dr. Martin Whitly. He talked about he prepared for the role, what made him accept it and his expectations to shoot season 2 in October.
Watch the clip:
EDIT: Check out the screencaptures from his appearance on our photo gallery:
