Michael Sheen has announced he’s leaving acting behind for politics (Picture: Getty Images)

Michael Sheen is leaving the acting game to take on the far-right ‘populism’ he’s seen rise up across Western countries over the last decade.

The Passengers actor has announced plans to move from Hollywood to his south-Wales hometown of Port Talbot which voted ‘leave’ in June’s Brexit vote.

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There, Sheen believes he stands the best chance of making his mark by taking on ‘demagogic’ and ‘fascistic’ politics.

‘In the same way as the Nazis had to be stopped in Germany in the thirties, this thing that is on the rise has to be stopped,’ he told The Times.


Michael will leave wife Sarah Silverman (L) in Los Angeles while he kicks off his career in politics (Picture: Getty Images)

‘It’s not going to look like this in 10 years’ time. Everything has shifted. The dice are being rolled again.’



Leaving wife Sarah Silverman and family behind in Los Angeles, the 47-year-old added the June Brexit result, coupled with the upcoming inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump had inspired his decision to take action.

The Queen star says the current climate of Western politics inspired his decision (Picture: Getty Images)

‘The greatest service you can do is to serve the whole, is to serve the story that you’re a part of,’ he said.

‘The story is bigger than any one individual within it.’

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Ronald Reagan

Arnold Schwarzenegger H/T: Imdb.com/BBC

Sheen – who played former PM Tony Blair in The Queen – says he first became interested in politics while researching his stage role for The Passion back in 2011.

‘It started with a connection to something, and an idea of why I wanted to do it,’ he explained.

‘How I was going to do it emerged over time and was a lot to do with listening rather than telling.’

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