Fans have branded Michael Sheen a ‘man of the people’ after the actor began his mission to clear £1million of debt for 900 people with his own money.

As part of new Channel 4 show Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, the  Damned United star, 56, has bought up the vast sum of debt using £100,000 of his hard-earned cash.

Michael started the process of setting up a debt acquisition company to help people in south Wales after he saw John Oliver do something similar in the US almost 10 years ago.

The programme, which aired on Monday, also set out to reveal how some banks and finance companies make profit from society’s most vulnerable. 

And viewers have taken to social media to heap praise on the Welsh actor after watching his journey to make a difference to the lives of those struggling financially.

One posted on X: ‘Michael Sheen. A true man of the people. Would back him all the way if he went political. He gets it. He understands.

Fans have branded Michael Sheen a ‘man of the people’ after the actor began his task of clearing £1million of debt for 900 people with his own money

As part of new Channel 4 show Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, the Damned United star, 56, has bought up the vast sum of debt using £100,000 of his hard-earned cash

The programme, which aired on Monday, also set out to reveal how some banks and finance companies make profit from society’s most vulnerable

Another emotional user added: ‘I’m not crying. Michael Sheen has always been a decent bloke, from his unending support for the NHS, through his work with local charities, his amazing Pᴀssion Play, up to his generous fight against debt and poverty. A wonderful actor and a decent bloke.’

A third said: ‘Michael Sheen is a hero! #MichaelSheenBigGive #C4 #Channel4’

Another posted: ‘The term “legend” is a common refrain. In Michael Sheen’s case its 100% legitimate.’

One impressed viewer said: ‘Lovely Michael Sheen is being lovely and doing lovely things again. How can you not love him?’

And a sixth added: ‘Michael Sheen the man that you are! You are an incredible person and you truly are helping to make the world a better place.’

Speaking about his gesture on The One Show on Thursday, the actor said: ‘I didn’t have £100,000 to throw around so I wanted it to be effective but when I realised that I could do this, that I could [get] £1m worth of people’s debt and just write it off, it seemed like a good thing to do.

‘People’s debt gets put into bundles and then debt buying companies can buy those bundles and then they can sell it on to another debt buying company at a lower price.

‘So the debt itself, even though the amount of people who owe is still the same, the people who own the debt can sell it for less and less money.’ 

Viewers have taken to social media to heap praise on the Welsh actor after watching his journey to make a difference to the lives of those struggling financially.

He explained: ‘So I was able to set up a company and for £100,000 of my own money, but £1million worth of debt, because it had come down in value.’

Michael was driven on by the people he met, including a woman in a Port Talbot cafe who told him about ‘steelworkers in tears’ after they lost their jobs following the closure of Port Talbot’s last blast furnace and the end of traditional steelmaking in south Wales.

It comes just a month after Michael was praised for ‘putting his money where his mouth is’ by funding a new national theatre company in Wales. 

The actor is reportedly set to become the artistic director of the Welsh National Theatre.

With its first production set to start in 2026, Michael told the Mirror that he likes ‘the idea of starting small and building up’.

The move came after National Theatre Wales said last month it had ‘ceased to exist’ after £1.6m in cuts to its core funding from Arts Council Wales.

Michael also revealed that the new company didn’t have funding yet, but he will work with what he has.

He told the publication: ‘I like the idea of starting small, simple, lean and building it up, working with what you’ve got.

Speaking about his gesture on The One Show on Thursday, the actor said: ‘I didn’t have £100,000 to throw around so I wanted it to be effective’ 

Michael (pictured, in October) was driven on by the people he met, including a woman in a Port Talbot cafe who told him about ‘steelworkers in tears’ 

‘Don’t pay for swanky offices if you don’t need them, build it slowly with care and with pᴀssion and with vision and with ambition.

‘We aim to represent the Welsh people so I would hope that public bodies would be prepared to work with us.

‘I think probably history tells us that relying too much on any one source of funding makes you a bit vulnerable so I first and foremost would hope that this company can stand on its own two feet but we are open to working with whoever wants to get involved.’

Last year, the Hollywood star directed a BBC drama call drama called The Way, which was about a brutal government crackdown in Wales with people becoming refugees and being hounded by English fascists.

It is directed by Michael, a Welsh nationalist, and follows the Driscoll family as they try to escape the UK.

The show, which also depicts a crackdown on protests over job cuts at the Port Talbot steelworks, came just weeks after Tata Steel said almost 2,000 jobs were at risk, leading to demonstrations in the town. 

Michael, who lives close to Port Talbot, admitted that the show could be seen as political and that he had feared it would be pulled by BBC bosses. 

The actor said he had ‘huge sympathy’ for the steelworkers but insisted it was a coincidence that the show he devised in 2016 was released after the job cuts were announced.

It comes just a month after Michael (pictured, in September) was praised for ‘putting his money where his mouth is’ by funding a new national theatre company in Wales 

Michael (pictured, on The ᴀssembly) also revealed that the new company didn’t have funding yet but he will work with what he has. He told the publication: ‘I like the idea of starting small’ 

‘We wanted to get this out quickly,’ he told The Times. ‘The concern was that if it was too close to an election, the BBC would get nervous.’

But the show attracted criticism with one senior Tory MP saying: ‘This is typical politicisation of the BBC’s drama output.

In February 2024, Michael revealed why he left Hollywood behind to live in his hometown in Wales. 

The actor is well known for his Welsh roots and was brought up in the town, where his parents still live. 

He previously lived in Los Angeles , where the acting industry is biggest, but a few years ago he decided to return to his home country.

Speaking to The Sunday Times on why he abandoned his Hollywood lifestyle, he said: ‘It’s home. I feel a deep connection to it.’

Michael explained that while working on a play in Port Talbot in 2011, he saw local people in his hometown struggling to cope with the cost of living crisis and job cuts.

His time there made him aware of initiatives and charities that were in need of high-profile help and support, and he realised the impact he could have.

In February 2024, Michael revealed why he left Hollywood behind to live in his hometown in Wales (pictured: the star in Port Talbot in 2022)

The actor (pictured, in 2024) is well known for his Welsh roots and was brought up in the town, where his parents still live 

He said: ‘Once you become aware of difficulties in the area you come from you don’t have to do anything. You can live somewhere else, visit family at Christmas and turn a blind eye to injustice. 

‘It doesn’t make you a bad person, but I’d seen something I couldn’t unsee. I had to apply myself, and I might not have the impact I’d like, but the one thing that I can say is that I’m doing stuff. I know I am — I’m paying for it!’

He added: ‘It’d take a lot for me to work in America again — my life is elsewhere.’

In 2021, Michael revealed he had become a ‘not-for-profit’ actor, using his future earnings to fund charities and social projects.

After funding for the £2m Homeless World Cup in 2019 in Cardiff fell through, he stepped in to bankroll the project and sold his two mansions.

Speaking to The Big Issue for their Letter To My Younger Self in 2021, Michael admitted that the decision was ‘scary and incredibly stressful’ and he would be ‘paying for it for a long time’.

But he added: ‘But when I came out the other side I realised I could do this kind of thing and, if I can keep earning money it’s not going to ruin me.’

This inspired him to continue using his wealth and profile to help with similar ventures to ‘make a difference in someone’s life’ and chose to move to Wales to focus on campaigns helping Welsh people.

Michael (pictured, in the city in 2022) explained that while working on a play in Port Talbot in 2011, he saw local people there struggling to cope with the cost of living crisis and job cuts 

Speaking about his love for Port Talbot on The One Show, he explained: ‘There’s nowhere like it because we are so made fun of.

‘The famous thing about Port Talbot, because of the steelworks, and there used to be a chemical plant there as well, is the industry. And the motorway, the M4, goes straight through it.

‘So people on their way to sunnier climes, off to the Gower coast, or on the other direction to Cardiff, you know, you go past Port Talbot.

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‘You sort of overlook it. And people say “Oh it’s that smelly dirty place you go past.” Now we who live down in the grime… 

He continued: ‘So it gives you a special kind of sense of the place, I think, and the spirit of the people there is brilliant. The sense of humour is brilliant.

‘Now that I live back there as well, it’s such a strange mix of worlds where one day I’m on a film set or I’m with whoever.

‘Then the next day I’m shopping in Ystradgynlais and people are coming up to me.’