- Michael Sheen used £ 100,000 (130,000 dollars) of his money to buy debt of £ 1m (1.2 m) worth debt of his neighbors.
- He made the documentary “Million Million of Michael Sheen’s secret,” to raise awareness of credit debt.
- Sheen said the use of his money proves that he is “serious” for resolving the credit debt issue.
Michael Sheen has paid £ 1m ($ 1.2 million) debt held by 900 foreigners in his Wales hometown to highlight the United Kingdom Credit debt issue.
According to the right of charity debt, personal debt has reached “new levels” in the UK, with 10 million people many in debt due to growth in exit such as renting and service bills.
Debt is also a considerable problem in the US: New York Reserve Federal Bank said the total debt of households increased by $ 93 billion by the end of 2024, to $ 18.04 trillion.
Sheen – best known for his roles in “Frost/Nixon”, “Queen”, “Rron: Legacy” and “The Damned United” – told The Guardian on Monday that he used £ 100,000 (130,000 dollars) to buy £ 1m debt, to notice what he sees as the unjust way of credit companies.
Debt purchasing companies are legally allowed to buy existing debt packages for a lower amount. When talking about the BBC’s One Show on March 4, Sheen said he was able to create one of these companies to pay the debt.
His efforts are described in the new documentary “Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Giveaway”, which premieres Monday at Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.
Sheen does not know whose debt he paid
Due to data protection laws, Sheen does not know whose debt he was paid, but told The Guardian that he wants to “encourage banks to offer affordable loans to previously expelled people, their origin or where they live”.
Responsible finances, which says it represents the “Responsible Finance Providers” in the UK, argues on its website that the large increase in the size and number of credit trade unions and community development institutions can result in a 13-fold increase in the affordable loan available for businesses and people with lower income.
There is a wrong concept that people who are in debt are making “extravagant” purchases, but this is not usually the case, said Sheen.
“Talking to people who are working, maybe working two jobs – these are people who are too versatile, too resilient. They will not go to extravagant vacations or something like that. It is just fundamental,” he added.
“The system no longer works. But people find it easier to imagine the end of the world than something that is a reliable alternative to capitalism.
“I think people really think there is something wrong and flawed with the system, and admit that it needs radical change, but the only people who offer radical changes are people who are dangerous. And there is no good end to it.”
Sheen said poverty was widespread when he was growing up in the city of Newport and Port Talbot, but he was “unconscious” for him at the time. His father worked in Steelworks and his mother was secretary, and he “always felt like we were doing well, but in retrospect we were barely taking.”
Sheen said he is aware that by using his money, he risks being accused of using the cause to increase his profile. But he said “this shows that you are serious about what you are doing, but also encourages other people to take that step.”
He added: “I never feel like it has to do with me – it is mainly about working with other people or emphasizing what they do. I am not doing it because I want people to think I’m great; I want us to be able to imagine an alternative to it because it doesn’t work.”