Michael Sheen has spent most of his life ignoring the advice of his parents.
The 50-year-old actor has admitted that, during his young years, he was keen to create his own path in life – though he’s subsequently followed in their footsteps.
Michael – who plays an active role in various charitable organisations – told the Times newspaper: "Pretty much everything my parents told me to do, I didn’t. But as I’ve got older, I’ve ended up doing what they did, like community activism."
The Hollywood star was an avid soccer player during his childhood and he initially dreamed of becoming a professional sportsman.
But ultimately, he’s glad his parents didn’t relocate to London, where he was supposed to join Arsenal Football Club.
He recalled: "I was a keen footballer and when I was 12 I was offered a place with Arsenal’s youth team, but my parents didn’t want to relocate to London.
"I was upset, but the chance of playing professional football in the Premier League is so slim. Ultimately, I was grateful to them."
Earlier this year, Michael revealed he once risked his acting career for a game of soccer.
The ‘Masters of Sex’ actor is a regular player in the biannual Soccer Aid match – which raises money for UNICEF – but in 2014, he was unable to get insurance to play after fracturing his elbow, but decided to take a chance and get on the pitch anyway.
He recalled: "I’d fractured my elbow in training and so I shouldn’t have played at all, but there was no way I was not going to play.
"So essentially they said they couldn’t insure me and I had to leave the day after to go to America to carry on filming the series I was doing. I had a week off to go and do this.
"I had to decide – Do I take the risk of playing in this match with a fractured elbow? – If it gets any worse, I’ll have to have pins it it and a surgery.
"No one knew. I didn’t tell anyone because I knew if I told anyone that would be it."
Michael Sheen: I always ignored my parents during childhood
