Twilight actor Michael Sheen pays debt of 900 laid-off Tata Steel workers

Hollywood actor Michael Sheen started a debt acquisition company to help 900 people with his own money after Tata Steel's plant in South Wales halted operations of the blast furnace, causing job loss

Hollywood actor Michael Sheen has paid off 1 million pounds (more than Rs 11.2 crore) in debt for 900 individuals affected by the closure of Tata Steel’s blast furnace in Port Talbot, South Wales after over 100 years, which left 2,800 workers unemployed five months ago.

 

To help the people in his hometown who suffered job loss, the Welsh actor invested 100,000 pounds (over Rs 1 crore) from his pocket, from which he bought the 1 million pounds worth of debts of 900 people and wrote them off. But how has he done that? “It’s to do with something called secondary debt market,” says Sheen in a video posted on social media platform X by British television channel Channel 4.

 

 

The 56-year-old actor has started a debt acquisition company to expose how banks profit off of vulnerable people. The company is set to be shown in the Channel 4 documentary ‘Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway’ set to premiere on Monday, March 10. The documentary explains how 100,000 pounds can buy 1 million pounds worth of debts.

 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Channer 4 announced, “Actor Michael Sheen is buying 1 million pounds of debt with 100,000 pounds of his own money. But how is it possible? It’s all to do with the secondary debt market which is worth billions of pounds. Watch Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, Monday 10th March at 9 PM on Channel 4.”

 

In the video post by Channel 4, the actor explained how the debt system works. He described how individual debts are bundled together and sold to debt-buying companies at a reduced price. While the original borrowers still owe the full amount, these companies can resell the debts multiple times at progressively lower prices.

 

Actor @michaelsheen is buying £1 million of debt with £100,000 of his own money.  But how is it possible? It’s all to do with the secondary debt market which is worth billions of pounds.  WATCH Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, Monday 10th March at 9PM on @Channel4 pic.twitter.com/H5N8XPg1mu

— Channel 4 Dispatches (@C4Dispatches) March 7, 2025

 

What motivated Sheen to pay off the debts?

Sheen shared that he did not know the identities of the individuals whose debts he cleared — only their location and the type of debt they had. “I would never know who they are, and I still don’t,” he said.

 

Talking about his initiative in another video posted by Channel 4, Sheen said the idea came after filming in a cafe in his hometown of Port Talbot, where the local steelworks (Tata Steel) were preparing to close. Recalling the emotional moment, he said, “We’re sitting in a cafe at the moment, with steelworks right behind us, and the ladies who work here, before we started filming, told me that tomorrow is the last ship, the last boat coming into the dock here to deliver stuff to the steelworks. And they’ve described people sitting in here just crying at these tables. So, it couldn’t be more real, how much people are hurting. It’s made me realise that this... you’ve got to give it a chance, you’ve got to give it a go, and maybe this programme will make a tiny difference, or maybe it won’t, but I can’t walk away from it now.”

 

Michael Sheen talks about the landscape of debt in his hometown of Port Talbot, where the last steelworks blast furnaces have closed.  He’s on a mission to write off £1 million of ordinary people’s debt.  WATCH Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, Monday 10th March, 9PM pic.twitter.com/5IxZBrnoSF

— Channel 4 Dispatches (@C4Dispatches) March 5, 2025

 

In 2021, Sheen declared himself a ‘not-for-profit’ actor, vowing to use all his earnings for charitable causes. The 56-year-old also sold his homes to ensure the 2019 Homeless World Cup could take place in Cardiff. He has also recently started a self-financed national theater to fill the gap left by the 2024 shutdown of the National Theatre Wales.

 

Tata Steel’s plant closure and future plans

 

The closure of Tata Steel’s last remaining blast furnace in Port Talbot last September had a significant impact on the community. The decision was controversial, as it was part of a restructuring plan at the UK’s largest steelworks, leading to the loss of 2,800 jobs.

 

However, following the announcement of the furnace closure, the company said that steel production at the site is expected to resume between 2027 and 2028. This will be part of a British government-backed investment program worth approximately 1.25 billion pounds, focusing on Electric Arc Furnace-based steelmaking using UK-sourced scrap steel.