Good Omens star Michael Sheen owes much of his success to The Crown creator Peter Morgan, who wrote his part of Tony Blair in Channel 4’s The Deal
Good Omens star Michael Sheen owes much of his success to The Crown creator Peter Morgan, who wrote his part of Tony Blair in Channel 4’s The Deal and then the same role in hit movie The Queen.
Today, Sheen, whose storied career has included roles in Good Omens, The Damned United and Frost/Nixon, often playing real-life characters, talked the Edinburgh TV Festival through why he thinks Morgan stands out amongst the crowd.
“The brilliance of Peter Morgan is he cleverly uses people’s expectations of these [real life] people,” said Sheen. “He is brilliant at making you see underneath the veil or see something different from what you expected. And that is very very smart.”
Sheen has four BAFTA noms and throughout his career has drawn particular praise for his portrayal of notable people including Blair, TV host David Frost and soccer manager Brian Clough.
His career took off after he was cast in the Stephen Frears-directed TV movie The Deal more than 20 years ago, a part that he said he landed while living in L.A., where he was spending his time “reading Stephen King novels in diners.”
At that time, Sheen said the idea of doing a political movie that was sedate was for the birds. “The extraordinary thing was that no one had done anything like that before,” he added of the critically-acclaimed feature that dramatized the rivalry between Blair and UK Chancellor Gordon Brown. “If people had made something contemporary and political it was always satire and it wasn’t taken seriously. It was a massive risk and no one knew whether it would work but it went down very well and eventually led to The Queen.”
Sheen’s penchant for portraying real people has not gone unnoticed and he stressed today that he has never really seen himself as an impersonator.
“You have to put yourself off for as long as possible of trying to sound like [the people you are playing],” he added. “I spend lots of time watching footage and reading about them. I’m in a bath, submerged in the world of their life. I take my cue from the writer and know that I’m not doing a documentary.”
From rivals to friends
David Tennant and Michael Sheen in ‘Good Omens’
Amazon Prime
Another star who Sheen says he owes so much to is David Tennant, his Good Omens co-star who he worked with on pandemic-inspired BBC drama Staged.
Sheen revealed that he and Tennant haven’t always been best buds as towards the start of their careers they were often going for the same roles, including for hit BBC drama Casanova, which Tennant landed ahead of Sheen.
“We knew each other but not well, maybe that’s because we were often up for the same part,” added Sheen.
But Sheen now said of Tennant: “When people talk about having chemistry, you just feel very lucky. We both feel the same way about making a scene work as well as possible. And to see what Good Omens means to the fandom, well I still get very moved.”
The pair have played the leads in Good Omens across two seasons but all is not well with the show, which is soon to possibly conclude with a 90-minute finale following allegations made against its creator Neil Gaiman, allegations that Gaiman denies. He has exited the show.
“It’s not up to me,” said Sheen of whether the finale will air. “I’m not in control but the episode is made and hopefully the people will enjoy it as and when.”
Sheen was opening the Edinburgh TV Festival, before the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Tina Fey and Graham Norton address the fest. He was in conversation with Doctor Who EP Jane Tranter, this year’s Edinburgh advisory chair.
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