Robert Sheehan | |
|---|---|
 Sheehan in 2017 | |
| Born | (1988-01-07)7 January 1988 (age 37) Portlaoise, Laois, Ireland |
| Alma mater | Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Robert Sheehan (born 7 January 1988)[1] is an Irish actor. He is best known for television roles such asNathan Young inMisfits, Darren Treacy inLove/Hate, andKlaus Hargreeves inThe Umbrella Academy, as well as film roles such as Tom Natsworthy inMortal Engines and Simon Lewis inThe Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
Sheehan has received multipleIrish Film and Television Award nominations and aBritish Academy Television Award nomination. In 2020, he was listed as number 41 onThe Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[2]
Sheehan was born inPortlaoise, County Laois. He is the youngest of three children born to Maria and Joe Sheehan, who was agarda.[3][4]
At school, he played the banjo, thebodhrán, and the spoons, having joked that he was like "Footloose with spoons";[5] he also participated inFleadh Cheoil.[5]
Sheehan attended St Paul's school in Portlaoise for primary school. He attendedBallyfin College for secondary school, which went on to become a famous hotel. Unsure of whether acting was a sustainable career choice, he studied film and television atGalway-Mayo Institute of Technology. He missed several months of the course to filmSummer of the Flying Saucer, failed his first-year examinations, and decided not to attempt the repeats.[6]
Sheehan became interested in acting in primary school when he played Oliver inOliver with a Twist. At the age of fourteen, he auditioned forSong for a Raggy Boy, and won the role, spending three months in Cork to film. He later joined the Laois Open Door theatre group, and played the crippled boy in a production ofThe Cripple of Inishmaan.[7] At the age of 16, Sheehan appeared in the Australian television showForeign Exchange.[8] He followed it with roles inThe Clinic andThe Tudors,[9] and portrayedLouis XIV of France inYoung Blades. In 2008, he appeared inRock Rivals andBitter Sweet, a two-part television comedy-drama. During this time, he also appeared in films includingGhostwood.
After leaving the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Sheehan starred as one of the lead characters inCherrybomb in 2009.[10] In March 2009, he appeared in the role of BJ in theChannel 4 trilogyRed Riding.[11] Sheehan described the role as "weighty" and a "step up" from his previous work, and credits the show with changing his career.[10][12]
From 2009 to 2010, he starred asNathan Young, a young offender, in the first two series of the British TV seriesMisfits.[13] In April 2011, it was announced that Sheehan would not be returning to the show for the third season.[13] Regarded as a "cult favourite",[8] Sheehan connected "intensely" with the role,[6] which he later described as "defining", and "a lovely, gorgeous memory for me,"[14] and remarked it was "challenging" to leave it behind.[10] In May 2011, he was nominated for aBAFTA Award in the "Male Supporting Actor" category for his role inMisfits. Beginning in 2010, he played Darren, a member of gangland Dublin inLove/Hate. He accepted the part because he wanted to work withStuart Carolan and Dave Caffrey, and featured in three seasons.[12] After leaving the series, his character's ubiquitous blue hoodie was donated to the Dunamaise Theater in Portlaoise, and he remarked it was "tough to watch [the] show carry on without [me]".[15] He was nominated for anIrish Film and Television Award for the role in 2011 and 2013.[6][16] In 2011, Sheehan played Kay inSeason of the Witch alongsideNicolas Cage andRon Perlman.[17]
Sheehan was nominated for an Irish Film and Television Award in the Rising Star category in 2010.[18] The following year, he starred in the filmKilling Bono,[19] and in John Crowley's production ofThe Playboy of the Western World at theOld Vic Theatre.[11] Sheehan appeared in the second season of the BBC crime drama seriesAccused, which aired in 2012.[20] He played Simon Lewis in the 2013 filmThe Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,[21] and followed it with roles inAnita B.,The Road Within,Moonwalkers, andThe Messenger in 2014 and 2015.[6][10] In late 2015, he playedRichard III inTrevor Nunn's revival ofThe Wars of the Roses, an adaption ofWilliam Shakespeare's playsRichard III and the three partHenry VI. In a 2018 interview withHot Press, Sheehan described the role as his recent favourite, citing the "magic" and "transcendent experience" of being on stage.[11]
The Song of Sway Lake premiered at theLos Angeles Film Festival in 2017, and was released theatrically the following year. It was filmed prior to 2014, and reflecting on the role in 2019, Sheehan described himself as "immensely proud".[22][23] During 2017, he also appeared inGeostorm and featured in the second season ofFortitude, for which he was nominated for an Irish Film and Television Award.[19] In 2018, he appeared inGenius: Picasso asCarlos Casagemas and inThe Young Offenders Christmas special as a caricatured version of himself.[24][25] He also appeared in several films; he starred alongsideDavid Tennant inBad Samaritan, appeared in theneo-noir filmMute,[9][26] and starred inMortal Engines in the leading role of Tom Natsworthy.[19]
In 2019, he starred in the Netflix Original seriesThe Umbrella Academy asKlaus Hargreeves.[19]
On 15 October 2021, Sheehan published his debut novel,Disappearing Act: A Host of Other Characters in 16 Short Stories.[27]
He was cast in August 2022 to be one of the main villains in the upcoming filmRed Sonja. He will be playing Draygan.[28]
In May 2024, Sheehan will play Withnail in the world premiere ofWithnail and I byBruce Robinson and directed bySean Foley based on the1987 film at theBirmingham Repertory Theatre. In July, he will appear inReunion written and directed byMark O’Rowe for theGalway International Arts Festival.
Sheehan resides inWest Cork.[29] He has also lived in London[24] and Los Angeles.[11]
He has spoken openly about experimenting with his sexuality when younger, but identifies himself asheterosexual.[11]
He was in a relationship with actressSofia Boutella from March 2014 until October 2018.[30][31][11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | An Cuainín | Duncan's son | Short film | |
| Song for a Raggy Boy | O'Reilly 58 | |||
| A Dublin Story | Clocker | Short film | ||
| 2006 | Ghostwood | Tim | ||
| 2007 | An Créatúr | Conor Buckley | Short film | |
| 2008 | Summer of the Flying Saucer | Danny | ||
| Lowland Fell | Mark | Short film | ||
| 2009 | Cherrybomb | Luke | ||
| 2011 | A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures | Ray | Voice role | [32] |
| Season of the Witch | Kay | [33] | ||
| Demons Never Die | Archie Eden | |||
| Killing Bono | Ivan McCormick | |||
| 2013 | The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones | Simon Lewis | ||
| 2014 | Anita B. | Eli | ||
| The Road Within | Vincent Rhoads | |||
| 2015 | Moonwalkers | Leon | ||
| The Messenger | Jack | |||
| 2016 | Jet Trash | Lee | Also producer | [34] |
| 2017 | Three Summers | Roland | [8] | |
| Geostorm | Duncan Taylor | |||
| The Song of Sway Lake | Nikolai | |||
| 2018 | Mute | Luba | ||
| Bad Samaritan | Sean Falco | |||
| Mortal Engines | Tom Natsworthy | |||
| 2024 | Did You Hear About Erskine Fogarty? | Erskine Fogarty | Short film | |
| 2025 | Red Sonja | Dragan | [28] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Foreign Exchange | Cormac MacNamara | Series regular | |
| 2005 | Young Blades | Louis XIV | Series regular | |
| 2006 | The Clinic | Shane Hunter | Episode: #4.03 | |
| Bel's Boys | Max | Episode: #2.10 | ||
| 2008 | The Tudors | Apprentice | Episode:Everything Is Beautiful | |
| Rock Rivals | Addison Teller | Series regular | ||
| Bitter Sweet | Liam | TV miniseries | [32] | |
| 2009 | Red Riding | BJ | TV miniseries | |
| 2009–2010 | Misfits | Nathan Young | Main cast (Seasons 1–2; 13 episodes, 1 internet mini-episode) | |
| 2010 | Coming Up | Jason | Episode #5.07:Dip | |
| 2010–2013 | Love/Hate | Darren Tracey | Series regular (Season 1–3; 16 episodes) | |
| 2011 | The Borrowers | Spiller | Television film | [35] |
| 2012 | Accused | Stephen Cartwright | 2 episodes:Stephen's Story,Tina's Story | |
| Me and Mrs Jones | Billy | Series regular | [36] | |
| 2017 | Fortitude | Vladek Klimov | Series regular (series 2) | |
| 2018 | Genius: Picasso | Carlos Casagemas | 4 episodes | |
| The Young Offenders | Himself | Episode:Christmas Special | ||
| 2019–2024 | The Umbrella Academy | Klaus Hargreeves | Main cast | |
| 2022 | The Last Bus | Dalton Monkhouse |
| Year | Production | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Playboy of the Western World | Christy Mahon | The Old Vic |
| 2015 | The War of the Roses | Richard III | Rose Theatre Kingston |
| 2022 | Endgame | Clov | Gate Theatre |
| 2024 | Withnail and I | Withnail | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| Reunion | Maurice | Galway International Arts Festival |
In September 2013, Sheehan was honoured byUniversity College Dublin'sLiterary and Historical Society.[37] In October 2015, he received the Burke Medal for Contribution to Discourse Through The Arts fromCollege Historical Society inTrinity College Dublin.[38]
| Year | Award | Category | Role | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | IFTA | Rising Star | Nominated | [18] | |
| 2011 | BAFTA | Supporting Actor | Nathan Young –Misfits | Nominated | [39] |
| IFTA | Actor in a Lead Role – Television | Darren Treacy –Love/Hate | Nominated | [40] | |
| 2012 | Actor in a Supporting Role – Television | Nathan Young –Misfits | Nominated | [41] | |
| 2013 | Actor in a Lead Role – Television | Darren Treacy –Love/Hate | Nominated | [16] | |
| 2017 | Actor in a Supporting Role – Drama | Vladek Klimov –Fortitude | Nominated | [42] |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
