Martin Sheen shares dad's emotional final words were about Welsh town

Wales Online

6 hours ago

Martin Sheen shares dad's emotional final words were about Welsh town
Hollywood actor Michael Sheen's dad, Meyrick, died last month following a long-term battle with Alzheimer's disease, but he had some poignant words for his famous son
Michael Sheen pictured with his late father
Michael Sheen has shared the poignant last words his father had about the Welsh town where he grew up.
The 56-year-old was born in Newport before moving to England when Michael was just five years old. Three years later however the family returned to Wales, settling down in Baglan, Port Talbot.
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Michael's mum Irene and dad Meyrick lived in the house where the actor grew up even after he became a Hollywood star. The actor, famed for playing figures such as Tony Blair, Brian Clough, and David Frost, would regularly return to Port Talbot to see his parents.
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Previously, he said: 'As soon as I see the steelworks, there is no feeling like it for me. I get emotional coming back to this town.'
Disaster struck for the actor however when Meyrick died last year. Michael was at his father's deathbed along with Irene and his sister, Joanne.
Michael sheen shared his dad's final words
(Image: Getty Images )
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It came after a long-running battle with Alzheimer's disease. It meant Michael had time to think about how their final conversation would go.
Michael says he opted to simply say 'I love you' to his father before his death. After his passing, tributes poured in for Meyrick, who was a much-loved steelworker as well as working as a Jack Nicholson impersonator.
A mural was unveiled for him in Port Talbot, sitting alongside one of Michael. It was something the Good Omens star called 'amazing'.
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Meyrick was passionate about his local area, spending years engaging in and supporting local community projects. Port Talbot was even the final thing he thought about when speaking with his son.
Speaking to The Times, Michael said: 'But the last thing he said to me was about Port Talbot. By the end, he was confusing and conflating things, but the spirit was clear.
Michael grew up in Port Talbot
(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror )
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'I was telling him about the possibility of a project in town and he wasn't able to say very much, but the last thing he said to me wasn't about acting. He was so passionate about his community, where he grew up and lived all his life, so communicating that to me was the most important thing to him at the end.
'It was very telling. He just said, 'Get it done, Michael. Get it done.''
Michael, who starred in films such as Frost/Nixon, The Damned United and The Deal, has spoken of his pride for Wales. He told WalesOnline: 'My Welsh roots are everything, it's where I come from, the people I come from, the land I come from. In my own lifetime it's made me who I am.'
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Michael is himself a father. He shares daughter Lily, 26, with Kate Beckinsale, and has Lyra, five, and Mabli, three, with his partner, the actress Anna Lundberg, 30.
He says the mural of Meyrick will help his own children remember their grandfather. He also believes it will help Irene, who met Meyrick when she was just 14, remember her partner of almost seven decades.