So Happy for Him - Sean Bean in Broken

The world has suddenly discovered that Sean Bean is a great actor.  
I'm so very happy for him. Because you see, I've been a fan of Sean's since 1988. (I'll let you all do the math). And I've known for all these many years what a great actor he is.

I love Sean Bean. 

An article in The Guardian today brought me to tears:


(Beware of spoilers in the article)

A love letter to Sean Bean – the most heartbreakingly mesmerising of actors

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/14/sean-bean-mesmerising-actor-game-of-thrones-broken?CMP=share_btn_tw

"Bean’s Father Michael is quiet and conflicted, haunted by his past and battling a sadness that has seeped deep into his soul. He commands the screen, his pain flitting across that gaunt, ravaged face reminding us that some of the best actors say most when speaking least."

"There are few actors capable of bringing that weight to a role. Of allowing you to see how a person can be both good but heartbreakingly, perhaps fatally, flawed. Of convincing you that a man so betrayed by the Catholic church as a child might return to that church thanks to a faith deeper than those betrayals and, crucially, of making you believe in every aspect of his character’s life from the good-natured interventions into his parishioners’ lives to those moments when, terribly, he ignores them out of a desire to be off-duty for once, to put down the candle, to be alone."

__________________

I've written many "love letters" to Sean during the years. Not just on this blog, but other sites and blogs and fan forums. He doesn't know of course, but maybe he can feel the support and affection of all his fans in his heart. 

So for those just discovering this "heartbreakingly mesmerising" of actors, below my list of some of the best of Sean Bean. 


Stormy Monday (1988)

• (when I met Sean Bean)

Caravaggio (1986)

Windprints (1989)

The Field (1990)

My Kingdom for a Horse (1991)

Clarissa (1991)

Tom & Thomas (2002)

North Country (2005)

Far North (2007)

Red Riding (2009)

Black Death (2012)

So if you're newly discovering Sean, or just discovering Sean, check out some of the work I've listed above. 

Some are difficult to find, but worth the effort if you do. 

I didn't include the work that the world knows him for: Sharpe, Boromir, Trevelyan, Stark... but maybe watch those again too and you may discover new treasures there. Sometimes we think we know what we'll find, and we may discover we were wrong all along.