Sean Bean facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sean Bean
Bean in 2017
Born	Shaun Mark Bean (1959-04-17) 17 April 1959 (age 66) Sheffield, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Debra James ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1988)​ Melanie Hill ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 1997)​ Abigail Cruttenden ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2000)​ Georgina Sutcliffe ​ ​ (m. 2008; div. 2011)​ Ashley Moore ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	3

Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is a famous English actor. He became well-known after playing Richard Sharpe in the TV series Sharpe from 1993 to 1997. He kept his natural Yorkshire accent for this role.

Sean Bean also gained international fame as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings movies (2001–2003). He has appeared in many other films like National Treasure (2004) and The Martian (2015). On TV, he played Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and won a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 2022 for his role in Time. He also lends his voice to video games and adverts.

Early Life and Education

Sheffield Legends plaque in Bean's home city of Sheffield.

Shaun Mark Bean was born in Handsworth, a part of Sheffield, England, on 17 April 1959. His parents were Rita and Brian Bean. He has a younger sister named Lorraine. His father owned a company that made metal parts, and his mother worked there as a secretary. Even though his family became quite well-off, they chose to stay in their local neighbourhood to be near friends and family.

When he was a child, Sean had an accident where he broke a glass door. A piece of glass got stuck in his leg, which made it hard for him to walk for a while and left a scar. This injury meant he couldn't follow his dream of becoming a professional football player.

Sean went to Handsworth Junior School and then Athelstan School. He left Brook Comprehensive School in 1975 with good grades in Art and English. After working at a supermarket and for the local council, he joined his father's company. He also took a welding course once a week at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology. While there, he discovered an art class and decided he wanted to explore his artistic side. After trying out a few other colleges, he returned to Rotherham College and joined a drama course. He performed in some college plays and one at Rotherham Civic Theatre. His talent earned him a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, where he began studying acting in January 1981.

Acting Career Highlights

Early Roles and Sharpe

Sean Bean finished his studies at RADA in 1983. He started his acting career that same year, playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet at the Watermill Theatre. Early in his career, he performed in both plays and on screen. He changed the spelling of his first name to "Sean." His first appearance on national television was in an advert for a non-alcoholic drink. From 1986 to 1988, he was part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, acting in plays like Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

His first film role was in Caravaggio (1986). He also starred in Stormy Monday (1988). In 1989, he played Dominic O'Brien in The Fifteen Streets, which helped him gain a loyal fan base. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Sean became a well-known actor on British television. He appeared in BBC shows like Clarissa (1991) and Lady Chatterley (1993).

In 1996, he combined his love for football with his acting by playing Jimmy Muir in the film When Saturday Comes. This role allowed him to achieve his childhood dream of playing for Sheffield United, even if it was just in a movie!

Sean Bean became most famous for playing Richard Sharpe in the ITV series Sharpe. This show was based on books about the Napoleonic Wars and followed a group of soldiers. Sean was not the first choice for the role, but he stepped in when the original actor was injured. The series ran from 1993 to 1997 and was filmed in challenging locations like Ukraine and Portugal. More episodes, Sharpe's Challenge (2006) and Sharpe's Peril (2008), were made later.

Sean also started acting in Hollywood films. His first big Hollywood role was as an Irish republican in Patriot Games (1992). During filming, he got a permanent scar from Harrison Ford during a fight scene. Sean's tough look often led him to play villains, and many of these characters met dramatic ends.

The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones

Bean at the premiere of North Country at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival.

In the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, Sean Bean played Alec Trevelyan, Bond's enemy. He also played a kidnapper in Don't Say a Word (2001) and a treasure hunter in National Treasure (2004).

His most famous role is Boromir in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies. He has a major part in the first film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He also appears briefly in flashbacks in the later films. Sean had a fear of flying in helicopters, which made filming in the mountains of New Zealand difficult. Once, after a bumpy ride, he decided to take a ski lift and then hike for miles in his full costume, including armour and sword, rather than fly again!

Sean also showed his acting range in other roles. He played a character who changed his mind in Equilibrium (2002) and a clever Odysseus in Troy (2004). In 2002, he returned to the stage in London to perform in Macbeth, which was very popular.

Sean has also done a lot of voice-over work, especially for adverts in the UK, like for O2. He voiced Martin Septim in the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

In 2011, Sean Bean starred in the first season of Game of Thrones, an HBO series based on the books by George R. R. Martin. He played Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark. Sean and Peter Dinklage were considered essential actors for the show's success. His performance was highly praised, with critics saying he played Ned as a man who hoped for a better world.

Recent Film and Television Roles

Bean at a press conference for Ridley Scott's The Martian, 2015 Toronto Film Festival.

Since 2012, Sean Bean has continued to appear in many films and TV shows. In 2012, he was in Mirror Mirror, a Snow White movie, and Silent Hill: Revelation. He also co-starred in the TV series Missing. He played a unique role as a teacher named Simon in an episode of the UK series Accused, which won him an award.

Sean starred in the spy TV series Legends as Martin Odum, an FBI agent who uses different fake identities. There was a fun online campaign with the hashtag #DontKillSeanBean, because his characters often die in movies and shows! The campaign even included a funny video where Sean expected his character to die in a silly way, even in a simple scene.

From 2015 to 2017, Sean Bean starred in The Frankenstein Chronicles. During this time, he also appeared in major films like Jupiter Ascending, Pixels, and The Martian. In 2017, he starred in the BBC series Broken as Father Michael Kerrigan, a troubled priest, which earned him a BAFTA award for Best Actor. In 2019, he played a veteran in the TV drama World on Fire, basing his character on his own grandfather.

In May 2020, Sean Bean joined a special online reunion of Lord of the Rings cast members on Josh Gad's YouTube show, Reunited Apart. This show brought together actors like Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, and Elijah Wood, along with the director Peter Jackson, and encouraged donations to charities.

In 2021, he worked again with writer Jimmy McGovern and co-star Stephen Graham in the BBC prison drama Time. In 2022, he starred alongside Nicola Walker in the drama series Marriage. Looking ahead to 2025, he is set to play Ronnie Phelan in the BBC series This City Is Ours.

Personal Life

Sean Bean has been married five times. He first married his high school sweetheart, Debra James, in 1981. He later married actress Melanie Hill in 1990, and they had two daughters. After that, he married actress Abigail Cruttenden in 1997, and they had one daughter. He also has four grandchildren. He married Georgina Sutcliffe in 2008 and Ashley Moore in 2017.

Sean Bean is a huge fan of the football team Sheffield United. He has a tattoo on his left shoulder that says "100% Blade" (which is the team's nickname). He even served on the club's board of directors from 2002 to 2007 to help raise its profile. He also supports the Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

He has another tattoo of the number nine, written in a special language called Tengwar. This tattoo is a nod to his role in The Lord of the Rings films, as his character was one of the nine companions in the Fellowship of the Ring. Seven other actors from the Fellowship also have the same tattoo.

Sean Bean is a Christian and enjoys gardening in his free time.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video Games

Music Videos

Voice Over Work

Awards and Recognition

Sean Bean has received many honours in his hometown of Sheffield. He was given special doctorates from Sheffield Hallam University in 1997 and the University of Sheffield in 2007. He is also one of the first people to have a plaque on Sheffield Legends (like a Hollywood Walk of Fame for Sheffield) in front of Sheffield Town Hall. Sean said he was very happy to receive these honours from his home city.

Images for kids

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  Bean in 2017

See also

In Spanish: Sean Bean para niños