Welsh actor Michael Sheen came under fire from comedian Michael McIntyre on his latest Big Show on BBC One, who branded him “self-centred” during the audience-favourite Send To All feature. Sheen bravely surrendered his phone to McIntyre who then sent a cringe-inducing text to all his contacts live on stage, and took a cheeky peek at his apps with the view projected for the theatre and viewers at home.
Participating in the show on Saturday, 25 January, Sheen nervously commented: “It all seemed like a very good idea when I was first asked. Now it seems like a very bad idea.”
The actor joined the show alongside his partner Anna Lundberg and her Swedish mother Ingrid sitting cosily in a VIP box. While McIntyre had a rifle through Sheen’s phone, he first unveiled that the recent IMDb search history amusingly revealed self-searches by the actor.
Sheen told him: “Listen, sometimes… Sometimes, I have to look myself up, alright? Because I forget what I’ve been in.”
Further digging exposed another recent search for ‘Gavin and Stacey,’ highlighting Sheen’s fondness for his Welsh heritage and the hit TV series, reports Wales Online.
The next app McIntyre opened was his notes. Before doing so, he hesitated and said: “Is notes a bit personal? ” Sheen shook his head, smiling and said: “Don’t do that.”
The comedian ignored his plea, and found a page dedicated to the actor’s work history, which later turned out to be Sheen working on his bio for a project.
McIntyre couldn’t help but laugh as he read through the details, teasing: “Sorry Michael, you’re coming across as rather self-centred.”
He then delved into Sheen’s photos, finding selfie after selfie of the actor in various locations and disguises, including a trip to Port Talbot Steelworks beside a sign reading “total quality”, his decapitated head from Twilight, and a picture of Sheen sporting a handlebar moustache, which he quipped was “when he played rugby for Wales in the 1970s”.
McIntyre joked about a noticeable trend of vanity in Sheen’s phone, saying: “There was a theme when I started to look at your phone of a certain level of self-obsession. Every single one of your photos is of you.”
As he continued scrolling, he stumbled upon a collection of stuffed animals used as inspiration for a TV segment where a toy had to talk. Describing the images as the “creepiest thing he had ever seen in his life” McIntyre was amused while Sheen took it all in stride, earning praise on the show for being such a “good sport”.
Michael McIntyre’s Big Show is on BBC One on Saturdays and on BBC iPlayer