On March 10, the last steelworks factory in Port Talbot, Wales closed, leaving hundreds unemployed, many drowning in debt and potentially facing homelessness.
Coincidentally, on the same day, Channel 4 aired the documentary “Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway,” which details the actor’s initiative to erase £1 million worth of debt.
After achieving a remarkable career in Hollywood and earning substantial wealth, Sheen found himself confronted with the harsh realities of his homeland. Millions live with unpayable debts, lose their homes, and some resort to loan sharks, making their situations even worse.
“The prevailing impression is that people who end up in such situations are to blame. That’s not true. These people are hardworking and doing their best. But if you’re barely making ends meet and something unexpected happens, you can find yourself underwater, and then it becomes incredibly difficult to resurface,” says the Welsh actor.
Sheen established a company that purchased the loans of 900 people (whom he doesn’t know personally). Although the amount owed remains the same for debtors, companies holding these debts can sell them at increasingly lower prices.
Based on this practice, he rescued 900 borrowers. However, as he points out in the documentary while denouncing the banking system, this is merely a drop in the ocean.
Simultaneously, he campaigns for the passing of a fair banking system law in England.
This initiative is part of a broader framework of social contribution by the actor. Previously, he sold his homes to ensure the World Homeless Cup could take place in Cardiff, an action that cost him a significant portion of his wealth. He, however, has the opportunity to earn it back.
Sheen was inspired by another Briton with a career in the US, John Oliver of Last Week Tonight, who pays $60,000 monthly to purchase medical debts worth $15 million and erase them.
“One of the most devastating situations is that while we’re surrounded by injustice, we feel we can’t do anything. While the economic system doesn’t work, people find it easier to imagine the end of the world than a credible alternative to capitalism,” he argues.
“I don’t want to be just someone who enjoys the fruits of what others have done and then isolates himself. I’m at a stage in my life and career where I have a window of opportunity that will probably never be the same again”.