In a candid and charming revelation, English actress Kate Beckinsale, who humorously acknowledges her resemblance to Ryan Reynolds, shared how she first met Welsh actor Michael Sheen in 1995 while working together.
Reflecting on their initial encounter, Beckinsale told that her “life changed dramatically” after meeting Sheen. Throughout their relationship, Sheen became a fierce protector of her honor (details to come) and the father of their first child.
Their 2003 breakup wasn’t devoid of drama—Beckinsale married Len Wiseman, the director of Underworld, a year after they split.
However, despite the end of their romantic relationship, the former couple maintained a deep affection for each other, which persists as they continue to co-parent their daughter, Lily Mo, who was born in 1999.
Years after their separation, Beckinsale expressed her enduring fondness for Sheen, telling in 2016, “I really love him and like him, and we make each other roar with laughter.”
Here’s a retrospective look at Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen’s relationship.
Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen First Met in 1995. Beckinsale, then 22, and Sheen, then 26, met during rehearsals for a touring production of The Seagull in 1995, which also marked Beckinsale’s professional theater debut.
“I was all revved up to feel very intimidated,” Beckinsale reportedly told. “It was my first-ever play, and my mother had cut out reviews of [Sheen] in previous productions.
And then he walked in… It was almost like, ‘God, well, I’m finished now. That’s it, then.’ … He’s the most outrageously talented person I’ve ever met.”
By October of that year, Sheen accompanied Beckinsale to the London premiere of Haunted, a horror film in which she starred.
Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen Welcomed Their First Child in January 31, 1999. Nearly four years into their relationship, Beckinsale gave birth to their daughter, Lily, the first and only child for both actors.
Despite Beckinsale’s hopes for Lily to pursue a different career, their daughter has followed in their footsteps, telling in 2022 that Beckinsale “definitely would’ve preferred” her to become a doctor.
“My parents are great about pushing me out and letting me fly and become the person that I want to be,” Lily said. “To become the actor that I want to be.”
Though Michael Sheen doesn’t typically come across as aggressive, he once displayed his protective side when it came to Beckinsale. Sheen punched Beckinsale’s The Golden Bowl co-star, Jeremy Northam, after Northam yelled at the new mother over a flubbed line on set.
“Jeremy and I had a disagreement about something. So I’m also taking care of Lily, who was just six months old at the time, and I was still breastfeeding, and then Michael came down to the set to pick her up and suddenly sees this man yelling at me,” Beckinsale recounted in 2001. “So, naturally, he got very upset, and that was that.”
Despite the altercation, there were no lasting hard feelings. Beckinsale explained, “The truth is, he’s never hit anyone before in his life, and it was kind of shocking, but in a weird way, it really broke the ice, and it was all OK after that. I actually had a good time making the film.”
Sheen also reflected on the incident in 2009, telling, “It was because I thought he was being disrespectful to someone I loved.”
Beckinsale and Sheen ended their relationship in 2003, and shortly afterward, Beckinsale married Len Wiseman.
Despite rumors that Beckinsale had left Sheen for Wiseman, she clarified in a 2012 interview that there was nothing scandalous about their breakup.
“The popular notion of how Michael and I broke up—that we were on [the first Underworld] and I ran off with the director [Wiseman]—is just not true,” Beckinsale said. “If that were the case, I think it would be very difficult and peculiar to have an OK situation.”
Remarkably, Beckinsale’s ex and her then-husband got along well. “I love Michael. Michael’s fantastic. It shouldn’t necessarily have gone on and on forever with us, but he is one of my absolutely favorite people ever,” Beckinsale told The Wave Magazine, as reported in 2008.
“I think we both felt that it was really important for Lily, our daughter, to have everybody coming from the same place.”
She added, “[Michael] loves her, and I love her, and Len loves her. Everyone’s nice. The guys both get along. I do feel like that’s my major achievement of the last decade, that my daughter is totally unscathed and great. I am proud of that.”
Beckinsale also shared her positive relationships with Sheen’s girlfriends, “Having as many strong females in your teenage daughter’s life as possible is a good thing.”
