With his grey-streaked beard and mop of unruly hair, Welsh actor Michael Sheen makes an unlikely heart-throb.
But, at 50, he has just announced that his new girlfriend, who is half his age, is expecting his baby.
Stunning Swede Anna Lundberg, 25, is just the latest in a line of beautiful women Sheen has romanced.
Anna Lundberg says on Instagram that she is a ‘Swedish/NYC actress currently living in the UK’ — she has appeared in productions of Othello and Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening
Starting with British actress Kate Beckinsale, with whom he has daughter, Lily, who was born in 1999, he has squired co-stars, comedians and a ballet dancer — all of whom have been far more conventionally striking than him.
So what do all the ladies see in Sheen? Alison Boshoff takes a headcount . . .
They are understood to have been dating since at least May and she went to the New York and London screenings of his new TV series Good Omens
1. The Swedish Ingenue
Dated from: May 2019
Who? Anna Lundberg.
The romance: It’s not known how Sheen met aspiring actress Anna Lundberg.
They are understood to have been dating since at least May and she went to the New York and London screenings of his new TV series Good Omens, in which he plays an angel, observing that she was ‘overwhelmed with pride’ for him.
She says on Instagram that she is a ‘Swedish/NYC actress currently living in the UK’ — she has appeared in productions of Othello and Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening.
She has been posting loving pictures of Sheen since May. He said on Twitter this week: ‘Very happy to let everyone know that my partner Anna and I are expecting a little angel of our own. (Just to be clear — we’re having a baby!)’
Sheen is said to be ‘determined to make a go’ of the fledgling romance.
Irish stand-up comedian Aisling Bea, 35, started dating Sheen in April 2018, and they were seen together at the Olivier awards that month. Bea is pictured earlier this year
In May 2018, they were seen attending a Rolling Stones concert together in London, sparking talk of a romance. However, the following month, FitzGerald was seen canoodling with Poldark hunk Aidan Turner, whom she is still dating. Michael Sheen and FitzGerald are pictured in 2013
2. Stunning stand up
Dated from: April 2018-March 2019
Who? Aisling Bea
The romance: Irish stand-up comedian Aisling Bea, 35, started dating Sheen in April 2018, and they were seen together at the Olivier awards that month.
An onlooker said: ‘They stayed close all evening and he leapt to her defence when a reveller smashed a glass near her, making sure she was OK.’
They were together in New York in December 2018 at a charity shop to help refugees, but by March 2019 their romance was over, with Aisling attending the musical Hamilton with Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield.
3. Poldark’s girlfriend
Dated: May 2018
Who? Caitlin FitzGerald
The (possible) romance: Fitz-Gerald, 36 — an American actress from Maine, plays Sheen’s ex-wife Libby in Masters Of Sex and the two of them clearly struck up a friendship during the making of the show between 2013 and 2016.
In May 2018, they were seen attending a Rolling Stones concert together in London, sparking talk of a romance.
However, the following month, FitzGerald was seen canoodling with Poldark hunk Aidan Turner, whom she is still dating.
And, of course, Sheen had already started seeing Aisling Bea, so either the romance was fleeting or maybe they were just friends.
4. Fabulous funnygirl
Dated from: 2014-2018
Who? Sarah Silverman
She and Sheen were first seen together in February 2014 and went to the Met Gala Ball as a couple in May. She said: ‘This is so awkward. Listen, I love his body, but I also love what’s on the inside’. They are pictured together in January 2016
The romance: Leading comedian Sarah Silverman, 48, got her break on U.S. TV show Saturday Night Live and was certainly the bigger star in America by the time she and Sheen started dating in 2014, with her own show on Comedy Central, and a high-profile romance with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
She and Sheen were first seen together in February 2014 and went to the Met Gala Ball as a couple in May. She said: ‘This is so awkward. Listen, I love his body, but I also love what’s on the inside.’
They split when he decided to return to the UK, partly because of Brexit.
He said: ‘It led to me wanting to address the issues that I thought led some people to vote the way they did about Brexit, in the area I come from and others like it.
‘I felt a responsibility to do something, but it did mean coming back here.’
Silverman wrote on Twitter: ‘The great Michael Sheen and I consciously uncoupled over Christmas. I mean, not “over Christmas” — like that wasn’t the fight that ended it.
‘No fight. We just live in different countries and it got hard.’
Michael Sheen went on U.S. TV star Carrie Keagan’s VH1 show in May 2011 to promote a film. Any attraction must have been slow-burning because they were not linked until October 2013. The pair are pictured together in 2014
5. Glamorous TV host
Dated from: 2013-14
Who? Carrie Keagan
The romance: Michael Sheen went on U.S. TV star Carrie Keagan’s VH1 show in May 2011 to promote a film.
Any attraction must have been slow-burning because they were not linked until October 2013.
His romance with Keagan, 39, was also short-lived — within a few months, he was dating Sarah Silverman.
6. Gorgeous co-star
Dated from: 2010-2013
Who? Rachel McAdams
The romance: Sheen and Canadian actress McAdams, 40, fell for each other during the making of the film Midnight In Paris, and became an item just after the film wrapped.
Director Woody Allen observed: ‘They were kind of chummy.’
Sheen said: ‘She’s talented, intelligent, beautiful. She’s warm and friendly. She’s very supportive, and very kind, very funny. She makes me laugh a lot.’
There was a difficulty with location — she lived in Toronto and he was based in Los Angeles.
They also apparently disagreed over whether to start a family, with a source saying that they had ‘different visions for the future’ when they split in February 2013.
Sheen and Canadian actress McAdams, 40, fell for each other during the making of the film Midnight In Paris, and became an item just after the film wrapped. They are pictured together in 2012
Sheen said: ‘She’s talented, intelligent, beautiful. She’s warm and friendly. She’s very supportive, and very kind, very funny. She makes me laugh a lot.’ The pair are pictured together in Cannes in 2011
7. Divine ballet dancer
Who? Lorraine Stewart
The romance: Ballet dancer Lorraine Stewart has featured in films such as The Phantom Of The Opera, Beyond The Sea, and Nine.
Based in London, she was Sheen’s first girlfriend following his split from Kate Beckinsale, but it seems that the distance between them was a factor.
She lived in London while he had stayed in LA, in order to be close to daughter Lily.
Based in London, she was Sheen’s first girlfriend following his split from Kate Beckinsale, but it seems that the distance between them was a factor
Sheen and Beckinsale met in 1995 on a production of The Seagull. In 1999, Beckinsale gave birth to their daughter, Lily. The following year, Sheen punched her co-star Jeremy Northam after he apparently shouted at her on the set of the drama The Golden Bowl
The bewitching old flame
Who? Kate Beckinsale
The romance: Sheen and Beckinsale met in 1995 on a production of The Seagull.
In 1999, Beckinsale gave birth to their daughter, Lily.
The following year, Sheen punched her co-star Jeremy Northam after he apparently shouted at her on the set of the drama The Golden Bowl.
Beckinsale, now 45, said: ‘Jeremy and I had a disagreement about something. Michael came down to the set to pick Lily up and sees this man yelling at me. So naturally he got very upset and that was that. The truth is, he’s never hit anyone before in his life and it was kind of shocking.’
The couple split up in 2002 after seven years together.
She later married American film director Len Wiseman, but they separated after 11 years. Her latest relationship is with U.S. comic Pete Davidson, 25.
Beckinsale and Sheen are still close friends, and she has said of him: ‘I really love him and like him and we make each other roar with laughter.’
Picture research by Claire Cisotti