Sean Bean

Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean, 17 April 1959) is an English actor. Recognised for his work in both film and television, he has received various accolades including three BAFTA TV Awards, a Critics' Choice Award, an Actor Award and an International Emmy Award.

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of Romeo and Juliet in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his Yorkshire accent, he first found mainstream success for his portrayal of Richard Sharpe in the ITV television drama series Sharpe, which originally ran from 1993 to 1997.

Bean made his film debut in the historical drama Caravaggio (1986) and received further attention for his roles in Stormy Monday (1988) and Patriot Games (1992). He played the main antagonist Alec Trevelyan in the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995) and had a supporting role in the neo-noir action thriller Ronin (1998). Bean achieved international recognition for portraying Boromir in the fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003). Following the success of Lord of the Rings, Bean appeared in a variety of films, including in the science fiction Equilibrium (2002), the action-adventure heist National Treasure (2004), Greek King Odysseus in the epic historical action Troy (2004), the mystery psychological thriller Flightplan (2005), Harry Mason in the supernatural horror films Silent Hill (2006) and Silent Hill: Revelation (2012), the action horror Black Death (2010), and the epic science fiction survival film The Martian (2015).

Bean's television roles include the BBC anthology series Accused and the six-part drama Broken, Ned Stark in the HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones, and the ITV historical drama series Henry VIII and Legends. As a voice actor, he has been featured in the video games The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), Sid Meier's Civilization VI (2016), and the feature films Wolfwalkers (2020) and Mummies (2023) among others. Since 2002, Bean has been the main voiceover on adverts for O2, a telecommunications services provider. In 2022, he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for Time, a BBC One drama.