Days before his new film âPassengersâ is sure to make a killing at the box office, actor Michael Sheen has announced he will become a political activist â and may begin acting less.
Sheen, who is well-known for his breakthrough performance as Tony Blair in a trio of films about the former British prime minister, revealed his decision in an interview with The Times of London on Saturday.
The âFrost/Nixonâ actor has been active in politics throughout his career, but apparently the rise of far-right populism in both the United States and the United Kingdom inspired him to fully commit to fight against âdemagoguesâ and âfascists.â He cited Donald Trumpâs presidential victory and the results of the Brexit vote as some of the reasons for leaving Hollywood.
âIn the same way as the Nazis had to be stopped in Germany in the â30s, this thing that is on the rise has to be stopped,â he told The Times. âItâs not going to look like this in 10 yearsâ time. Everything has shifted. The dice are being rolled again.â
The Times characterized Sheenâs comments as a decision that the entertainer was quitting acting, but Sheen tweeted Saturday that he hasnât given up the profession. He also said heâs not focusing specifically on the Brexit vote, but rather the âgeneral world rise of anti-democratic forces.â
After living in Los Angeles for the past 14 years, Sheen plans to spend the foreseeable future in his hometown of Port Talbot in South Wales, which he says voted in favor of leaving the European Union, to organize on a grassroots level.
âIt will be a big change for how people relate to me,â he explained to The Times. âOnce Iâm in, Iâm fully in, and this is big. As soon as you start to be effective, then people try to crush you, because itâs dangerous.â
After news of his political plans broke, Sheen shared a Ronald Reagan quote on Twitter to emphasize what exactly is at stake in our current political moment.
âFreedom is never more than one generation from extinction....It must be fought for, protected, and handed on....â he wrote.
Sheenâs girlfriend, comedian Sarah Silverman, expressed her support by retweeting a particularly powerful speech he delivered in support of Britainâs National Health Service in 2015.
This post has been updated with Sheenâs Saturday tweets that clarify he doesnât plan to quite acting altogether immediately.