Sean Bean is a Yorkshire legend, and is one of the biggest exports that the county has produced. He is known for many iconic film roles over a career spanning 40 years. He appeared in huge movie hits like Lord of the Rings trilogy, Goldeneye, The Patriot Games, Black Death and huge TV series Game of Thrones. Bean is known for his thick Yorkshire accent, brooding characters and often plays characters who die in a violent manner.
Yorkshire folk my lovingly remember Sean Bean for his role as Sharpe, which follows the adventures of Richard Sharpe (Bean), a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, who became known for frequently using the swear word ‘bastard’.
1. Sean Bean was not the first pick to play Alec Trevelyan in James Bond Classic, Goldeneye.
Harry Potter legend Alan Rickman turned down the role of Alec because he was tired of playing villains.
2. Bean is a devoted follower of the Sheffield United Football Club.
Ever wondered if Bean was a Blade or The Owls supporter. Unlucky Wednesday fans as Bean is a Blade. He even has a “100% BLADE” tattoo on his left shoulder.
3 He has a scar given to him by Indiana Jones actor Harrison Ford.
Ford accidentally hit him with a boat hook whilst filming the death scene in the 1992 classic Patriot Games.
4 He’s received multiple letters meant for actor Rowan Atkinson who plays the loveable silent character, Mr Bean.
It seems the last names cause confusion for some fans out there.
5. Has received the Yorkshire Award.
He was honoured with a star on Sheffield’s walk of fame and was awarded 2 Honorary Doctorates by different Sheffield universities.
6. Bean had actually auditioned for the role of James Bond for the film The Living Daylights in 1987.
Timothy Dalton was named Bond for this film but, Bean, as we know, later returned as the villain agent gone bad 006 in the 90s classic, Goldeneye.
7. Sean Bean has a terrible fear of flying.
The Yorkshire actor avoids flying internationally as much as possible, which meant that when filming in New Zealand Bean would sometimes hike across the countryside for scenes instead of taking a helicopter with co-stars.
8. Bean is actually fourth in line for most on-screen deaths.
Nerdist.com did the Maths, and Bean who has died over 25 times on screen is fourth place behind John Hurt (42), Bela Lugosi (36), and Vincent Price (33)
9. Sean Bean is not his real name.
Like a lot of actors, Bean doesn’t use his real name as a credit. His real name is Shaun Mark.
10. Where was Sean Bean born?
Bean was born in Handsworth, Sheffield on 17 April 1959.
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