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Shaun Mark Bean was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England on April
17, 1959. His parents are Brian and Rita Bean; he has a younger sister, Lorraine. He is 5'11" and has green eyes and dark
blond hair.
Sean left school at 16 with two "O" levels, in Art and English. He
had a variety of jobs, including selling cheese in a supermarket, shovelling snow, and working as a welder at his father's
steel fabrication shop before he discovered acting while attending an art course at Rotherham College.
Sean auditioned for London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in April
1980. One of 30 successful applicants (out of a field of 11,000) to win a scholarship, Sean began studying at RADA in Spring
1981. He was awarded a silver medal for his graduation performance in Waiting for Godot in Spring 1983. |
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| Sean's professional acting debut was as Tybalt in the
Watermill Theatre (Newbury) production of Romeo and Juliet in May 1983. He appeared on stage in London's West End in
a number of productions, including The Fair Maid of the West, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream
for the Royal Shakespeare Company. |
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More recently Sean's career has focused on film and TV. Although best
known in North America for his "bad guy" roles in Patriot Games, Clarissa and GoldenEye, Sean has earned
a solid reputation as a "heart-throb" on British television playing Richard Sharpe, the 19th century soldier in the series
adapted from Bernard Cornwell's Peninsular War novels; as well as Mellors in Ken Russell's BBC adaptation of Lady Chatterley,
and Paul, the compromised photographer in A Woman's Guide to Adultery.
Sean's other British projects include Bravo Two Zero (the story
of Andy McNab and his ill-fated mission to Iraq during the Gulf War); Extremely Dangerous for ITV; and Granada Films'
Essex Boys.
Sean's most recent films are The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship
of the Ring); sci-fi flick Equilibrium; suspense-thriller Don't Say a Word; children's film Tom & Thomas;
and The Big Empty, an independent film directed by Steve Anderson.
From October 2002 until March 2003, Sean appeared onstage in the UK
in Macbeth.
His next major projects are Troy, directed by Wolfgang Petersen
and Touchstone's National Treasure. |
| Never one to shy away from doing his own stunts, Sean
carries a souvenir from his appearance in Patriot Games: during the climactic fight scene Harrison Ford accidentally
cut him above his left eye with a boat hook, an injury which required 8 stitches to close. |
| Sean's other "distinguishing marks" are a black "100%
Blade" tattoo on his left shoulder -- a reference to his favourite football team, Sheffield United; and a tattoo on his right
shoulder which reads "Nine" in Elvish - a reference to the nine members of the Fellowship in Lord of the Rings, all
of whom got similar tattoos. |
| A lifelong supporter of the Sheffield United Football
Club, Sean is also a member of the club's Board of Directors. |
| Sean is divorced from his third wife, actress Abigail
Cruttenden, who played Jane Sharpe in the Sharpe television series. Sean and Abigail married on November 22, 1997 at
the Hendon Registry Office in London, with a blessing the following day, November 23, at St. Andrews Church, Totteridge. Their
daughter, Evie Natasha, was born on Friday, November 6, 1998, weighing 9 lbs, 3 oz. |
| Sean also has two daughters, Lorna (born in October
1987) and Molly (born in September 1991) from his second marriage, to actress Melanie Hill. Sean and Melanie were married
on 27 February 1990 at the Haringey Civic Centre in North London. They divorced in August 1997. |
| Sean's first marriage was on 11 April 1981 to hairdresser
Debra James, his childhood sweetheart. Sean had earlier enrolled in the January 1981 (Spring) term at RADA and travelled back
to Sheffield to marry Debra during the break between the Spring term and the Summer term. |
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