50 facts about actor Sean Bean: talented pianist, keen gardener, welder, and sketcher

50 surprising facts about English actor Sean Bean.

1. Bean was born in Handsworth, a suburb of Sheffield, which was then part of West Riding of Yorkshire.

2. He has a younger sister named Lorraine.

3. His father owned a fabrication shop which employed 50 people.

4. Bean's mother worked as a secretary.

5. Despite becoming relatively wealthy, the family never moved away from the council estate as they preferred to remain close to friends and family.

6. As a child, Bean smashed a glass door during an argument, which left a piece of glass embedded in his leg that briefly impeded his walking and left a large scar. This prevented him from pursuing his dream of playing football professionally.

7. In 1975, Bean left Brook Comprehensive School with O Levels in Art and English.

8. After a job at a supermarket and another for the local council, he started working for his father's firm with a day release at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology to take a welding course.

9. While in Rotherham College of Arts and Technology he stumbled into an art class and decided to pursue his interest in art. After attending courses at two other colleges, one for half a day and the other for less than a week, he returned to Rotherham College, where he subsequently enrolled on a drama course.

10. After some college plays and one at Rotherham Civic Theatre, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), starting a seven-term course in January 1981.

11. His full name is Shaun Mark Bean but he is nown professionally as Sean Bean.

12. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a theatre production of Romeo and Juliet in 1983.

13. Retaining his distinctive Yorkshire accent, he first found mainstream success for his portrayal of Richard Sharpe in the ITV series Sharpe.

14. Bean has since garnered further recognition for his performance as Ned Stark in the HBO epic fantasy series Game of Thrones, as well as roles in the BBC anthology series Accused and the ITV historical drama series Henry VIII.

15. His most prominent film role was Boromir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

16. Other roles include Alec Trevelyan in the James Bond film GoldenEye and Odysseus in Troy), as well as roles in Patriot Games, Ronin, National Treasure, North Country, The Island, Silent Hill, Black Death, and Jupiter Ascending.

17. As a voice actor, Bean has been featured in the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the drama The Canterbury Tales, among several others.

18. He has received several awards during his career and won an International Emmy for Best Actor.

19. He has also been nominated for a BAFTA and Saturn Award.

20. Often described as "down to earth", Bean has retained his Yorkshire accent despite now living in London.

21. Partly because of his role as Sharpe, he is also described as a sex symbol.

22. He was voted the UK's second sexiest man in 2004, placing just behind his Lord of the Rings co-star Orlando Bloom.

23. He admits he does not mind being considered as a "bit of rough" by women.

24. In addition to his image as a sex symbol and an admitted "bit of rough", he has developed a reputation as a loner, a label he considers unfair.

25. He has described himself instead as quiet, and interviewers confirm that he is a "man of few words", with one interviewer calling him "surprisingly shy".

26. Although he admits he can be a workaholic, he relaxes with a book or listens to music in his spare time.

27. He is a talented pianist.

28. He is also a keen gardener, welder, and sketcher.

29. Despite being professionally trained, Bean adopts an instinctive style of acting that some say makes him especially well-suited to portraying his characters' depths.

30. He has said that the most difficult part is at the start of filming when trying to understand the character. After achieving this, he can snap in and out of character instantly.

31. This ability to go from the quiet man on set to the warrior Boromir "amazed" Sean Astin during filming of The Fellowship of the Ring.

32. Other fans include directors Mike Figgis and Wolfgang Petersen, who described working with Bean as a "beautiful thing".

33. Bean was not the first actor to be chosen to play Sharpe. As Paul McGann was injured while playing football two days into filming, the producers initially tried to work around his injury, but it proved impossible and Bean replaced him.

34. Bean has been married and divorced four times.

35. He married his secondary school sweetheart Debra James on 11 April 1981. The marriage ended in divorce in 1988.

36. Bean met actress Melanie Hill at RADA, and they married on 27 February 1990.

37. The couple's first daughter, Lorna, was born in October 1987; their second, Molly, was born in September 1991. Bean and Hill's marriage ended in divorce in August 1997.

38. During the filming of Sharpe, Bean met actress Abigail Cruttenden, and they married on 22 November 1997.

39. Their daughter, Evie Natasha, was born in November 1998. Bean and Cruttenden divorced in July 2000.

40. Bean began dating actress Georgina Sutcliffe in 2006.

41. After cancelling their planned January 2008 wedding on the eve of the ceremony for "personal reasons", he married Sutcliffe at the Marylebone Register Office in London on 19 February 2008.

42. Bean and Sutcliffe's separation was announced on 6 August 2010, and the divorce was finalised on 21 December 2010.

43. Bean began a relationship with actress Ashley Moore during the summer of 2013.

44. Bean has been a fan of Sheffield United FC since he was eight years old.

45. Has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads "100% Blade".

46. He opened Sheffield United FC hall of fame in 2001 and, after making a six-figure contribution to the club's finances, was on their board of directors between 2002 and 2007 to help raise the profile of the club.

47. He stepped down in 2007 to "go back to being an ordinary supporter" where he feels at home.

48. He also follows Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

49. Bean has a tattoo of the number nine on his shoulder, written using Tengwar, in reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings films and the fact that his character was one of the original nine companions of the Fellowship of the Ring. The other actors of "The Fellowship" (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, and Viggo Mortensen) have the same tattoo. John Rhys-Davies, whose character was also one of the original nine companions, arranged for his stunt double to get the tattoo instead.

50. Bean often gets fan mail intended for Rowan Atkinson, who played Mr. Bean.