Main article: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
His most widely seen role was as
Boromir in
Peter Jackson's
The Lord of the Rings trilogy, although his only major part was in the
first film, only appearing briefly in the extended edition of
The Two Towers, and a flashback in
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, and 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] As a reference to
promos he made for the Sharpe series, Boromir cuts himself on
Isildur's sword and mutters, "Still sharp".[
citation needed]
Bean has a
tattoo of the Elvish word 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. The other actors of "The Fellowship" (
Elijah Wood,
Sean Astin,
Billy Boyd,
Ian McKellen,
Dominic Monaghan,
Viggo Mortensen, and
Orlando Bloom) got the same tattoo with the exception of
John Rhys-Davies whose stunt double got the tattoo instead.
Recent Career
Later roles gave more scope for his acting abilities. He became the repentant Grammaton cleric who gives in to his emotions in
Equilibrium in 2002, a quirky alien cowboy in 2003's
The Big Empty, a sympathetic and cunning
Odysseus in the 2004 film
Troy, a villainous treasure hunter Ian Howe in
National Treasure, a villainous scientist in
The Island (2005) and a sympathetic soul in
North Country (2005) , in which Bean converted his naturally heavy
Sheffield accent into that of
Minnesota slang, and a dedicated father in
Silent Hill.
He was cameoed with a myriad of other Hollywood stars in
Moby's
music video We Are All Made of Stars in February 2002.
[15] In the same year he returned to the stage in London performing in
Macbeth alongside
Samantha Bond.
[16] Due to popular demand, the production would run until March 2003.
Bean's high profile and recognisable voice has created a number of opportunities for doing voice over work, especially in the British advertising industry.
[17] He has featured in television adverts for
O2,
Morrisons and
Barnardos as well as for
Acuvue and the
Sci-Fi Channel in the United States. He also does the voice over for the
National Blood Service's television and radio campaign. He also voiced Martin Septim in the Role Playing video game
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
[18]
Bean has completed a one hour pilot, called
Faceless, for American television. He has also appeared in
Outlaw, an independent British production, and a
remake of
The Hitcher (released in January 2007), in which he put on an American accent again. He spent time in
Norway filming another independent film called
Far North.
[16]
In 2005, he played "Captain Rich" in
Flightplan.
Two films in production will reportedly star Bean.
Come Like Shadows is an adaptation of
Macbeth.
[19] He had starred in a production of
Macbeth on the London stage with Samantha Bond as Lady Macbeth with much critical success. As of 2008, this film as well as
A Woman of No Importance are listed as being in pre-production according to the Internet Movie Data Base. The actor also has said that he would like to appear in
Coronation Street (joking that he could be the milkman).
[20] He has also stated that he would like to do some wildlife presenting sometime in the future.
[21]
It has also recently been announced that Bean will be in the film
Black Death, set during the time of the first outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, Bean will star alongside Lena Headey and Rupert Friend.
Image
Often described as down-to-earth, Sean Bean has retained his Sheffield accent despite now living in London.
[8] He is also described as a sex symbol; he was voted the UK's second sexiest man in 2004.
[22] He admits he doesn't mind being considered by the ladies' as a "bit of rough".
[23]
He has developed a reputation as a loner, a label he considers unfair.
[8] In addition, he has been accused of being a
chauvinist; this originated after his second wife claimed he watched too much football, spent too much time in the pub and left clothes about the house.
[24]
He is often compared to British-born Australian comedian
Bob Franklin, in appearance.
Credit: same source