Sharpes Books

A Bloody Good Read

Sean Bean

Our main interest in Sean Bean is for his role of Major Richard Sharpe in the ITV adaptations of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe books. A role that whatever we may think of the pros and cons of the shows, he always performed admirably, and now it is virtually impossible to think of Richard Sharpe and not picture Sean Beans portrayal of the character. He is also well known for his Major films roles as Boromir in The Lord of the Rings, (A personal favorite of mine) is as Sean Miller in Patriot Games opposite Harrison Ford, Alec Treveylan in Golden Eye, Ian Howe in nation Treasure, and Odysseus in Troy. To sample but a few of his major roles.

Sean Beans early life and career

Sean Bean was born 17 April 1959 as Shaun Mark Bean in the Handsworth district of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Coming from an engineering family background it was not natural for him to take to acting and this only happened after a couple of false starts at other vocations. It surprised me to find that he was RADA trained( I am not saying he cant act he just come across as a RADA and RSC ‘type’ ), and graduated in 1983, and went on to spend much of the 80’s working in theatre and with RSC. Sean Bean spent the later part of the 80’s and early 90’s breaking into television acting with notable roles in Clarissa, Lady Chatterley and the Field.

Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe

Sean got his major breakthrough in the role of Major Sharpe, and became so synonymous with it that an extra line was added for Boromir in the extended version Fellowship of the ring where he says ‘Still Sharpe’ relating to the Isuldurs blade. However he wasn't’t the first actor chosen for the role, the first was Paul McGann, who injured himself whilst playing football and early in the filming, and in doing so did us all a big favour by bringing together Richard Sharpe and Sean Bean. The initial series ran form 1993 to 1997 with 3 episodes produced each year usually based round the Sharpe’s books to some greater or lesser extent, and then two extra episodes Sharpe’s Peril and Sharpe’s Challenge were added in 2006

Sean Bean in Hollywood

Sean actually broke into Hollywood before his success with the Sharpe series. His first notable Hollywood appearance was as in the 1992 film Patriot Games. This would be the first of several villains that he would portray. In 1995 he stared in GoldenEye as Alec Trevelyan (the major villain of the film) He also appeared as the character s Spence (with Robert de Niro) in Ronin (1998), and the greedy treasure hunter Ian Howe, in National Treasure (2004).

Sean Bean in Lord of the Rings

His most successful role to date was as Boromir in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, although appearing mainly in the The Fellowship of the Ring, and he also appears in flashbacks in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, Due to his fear of flying, he was reluctant to take the helicopters out to remote mountain locations while filming for The Fellowship of the Ring. After a particularly rough ride, he vowed not to fly to a location again. In one instance, he chose to take a ski lift into the mountains and then hike the final few miles, all in full costume.[13] Bean has a tattoo of the Elvish symbol for "nine", a reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings and the fact that his character was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Recent career Sean has not been quiet and has had many roles in Hollywood, Computer Games, TV voiceover's and though some have had great critical acclaim but nothing which has hit the same commercial success as the above mentioned roles. However he has been announced as the lead in HBO’s next big production Game of Thrones and this could be an excellent vehicle for Sean Bean to prosper again.

Sean Beans Personal life

Sean Bean's major passion is football and he has been a passionate Sheffield United supporter from childhood (he has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads 100% Blade). He was until December 2007 one of the directors of the club but finally decided to go back to terraces as that is where he felt most comfortable. He has been married four times and divorced three times, and his current marriage is as a stormy affair and can make the gossip columns more than occasionally. He describes himself as quiet. Although he admits he can be a workaholic, in his spare time he likes relaxing with a book or listening to music. He is also a keen gardener, and does both welding and sketching.