Prince Andrew actor Michael Sheen admits he isn't normally 'interested' in playing familiar people

Michael Sheen "isn't very interested" in playing someone familiar.

The 55-year-old actor has been noted for his versatility and impressions of celebrities over the years but as he takes on the role of Prince Andrew in 'A Very Royal Scandal' has admitted that what he prefers to do is take on the role of someone in real life that allows him to deliver something new about them to the audience.

He told Collider: "Weirdly, the very same things that make it daunting are also the things that make it attractive. It is that familiarity. It is that sense of, “Oh, I think I know this story. I think I know this person.

"And then, it is all about whether the script delivers on going, 'Well, here’s something you didn’t know'.

"As an actor, I’m not really interested in playing someone who is very familiar, and then you just see what’s familiar about them. There’s no interest in that. "What you’re interested in is somehow giving the audience the feeling that the veil is being lifted and you’re being invited into the secret world of this person and that world. It’s the very familiarity that an audience has with the character you’re playing that is daunting. It makes you nervous because you think, 'Are people gonna accept me as this person? Am I gonna be able to make people believe I am this person?'

"At the same time, it’s that same familiarity that makes you go, 'I know we’ve got the ammunition here to subvert those expectations and that familiarity.' "Funnily enough, it’s exactly the same qualities that make you feel both those sides of things.

The 'Good Omens' star also noted that in accepting the role of the royal he had to think "seriously" because he is aware of what a "responsibility" the part is.

He said: "The saying yes, taking on the role, and being part of the project is a much different thing than when I’m agreeing to do something that’s fictional. In the act of saying yes to it, you’re taking the responsibility of portraying real people and real events seriously enough. Is it appropriate, the way that you’re doing this? When I say yes, initially I have to trust that the script that I’ve read is doing that, and that the team who are going to be around me doing this will take responsibility for that and I can trust them.

"Once I say yes, I’m giving up the big picture. Then, I’m focusing on my character. There are all those things I have to let go of because it’s about just immersing myself in that character and trying to play someone as rounded as possible.

"If it’s someone who is revered, then I have to be prepared to show warts and all. If it’s someone who is already seen as a bit of a bad guy, I have to be prepared to show things where they show vulnerability. I’m taking on board my general responsibilities as an actor, rather than my responsibilities to that specific project. Given that I’m giving that up, in a way, I have to really take that seriously before I say yes.