Toledo Blade Interviews Michael Sheen
October 12, 2009 by Sara
Filed under Interviews, News
The Toledo Blade talked with Michael Sheen about his daughter and his character Aro inNew Moon.
Sheen made his movie debut in Stephen Frears’ 1996 Jekyll-and-Hyde tale Mary Reilly, working with the director again as Blair in The Queen and in the TV movie The Deal. He plays Blair a third time in the The Special Relationship, a drama about the prime minister’s bond with President Bill Clinton.
Other screen roles include the werewolf Lucian in the Underworld franchise, whose first two installments starred former girlfriend Kate Beckinsale, with whom Sheen has a daughter, Lily, 10.
Sheen also co-stars as vampire leader Aro in The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
His initial research for Aro came close to home. Lily is a huge fan of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels.
“I wanted to find out about the character without having to read the books immediately, but I couldn’t tip my daughter off, because that would get her overexcited,” Sheen said. “I said to her, ‘Oh, Lily, these books you’re reading. Someone was talking about them the other day. Is there a character called Aro in them?’
“She said, ‘Yes, he’s the head of the Volturi. He can tell what people are thinking just by touching them. Are you going to play him?’ I went, ‘No, no, no, no,’” Sheen said, laughing. “It was hilarious.”
