Michael Sheen bought $1 million of debt for 900 strangers just to teach greedy banks a lesson

Michael Sheen is best known for playing angels and vampires on screen, but for 900 people in South Wales, he’s become a very real savior. The acclaimed actor, famous for roles in Good Omens and Masters of Sex, has made headlines for a massive act of financial rebellion: he personally purchased—and then completely forgave—over £1 million ($1.29 million) of local debt.

In 2021, Sheen famously declared himself a “not-for-profit actor," pledging to use his earnings to fund social causes like this and the Welsh National Theatre. Now, a Channel 4 documentary, Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, has revealed exactly how he’s putting that money to work.

Sheen used £100,000 ($129,000) of his own money to establish a debt acquisition company. Like predatory firms, his company bought up local debts for pennies on the dollar. But instead of chasing borrowers for profit, Sheen simply wrote off the debts, freeing 900 people from the crushing weight of high-interest loans.

Sheen’s documentary aims to highlight how finance companies and banks often profit from the most vulnerable, a growing issue in Wales and other countries, including the United States.

“The shocking thing is that people have started having to use credit cards, overdrafts to pay for basics, to pay for necessities, rather than luxuries or anything like that, so the debt that I was able to buy included credit card debt, overdrafts, car finance, that kind of stuff,” Sheen said to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sheen also remarked about how difficult most financial institutions make it for regular people to pay off their debt once it has accrued. “People are getting into spirals of debt,” he says. “Once you’re underwater, it’s very hard to get out again. That’s why I wanted to do this — to draw attention to the fact that this is going on, and there is a way to change it, there are alternatives, and we need to push to try and make a difference for people.”

Sheen may have a point. According to a 2024 Q4 analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, household debt in the U.S. rose by $94 billion in the last three months of 2024, leading to a total of $18.04 trillion. The reasons behind this are numerous, ranging from high interest rates preventing debt payments from being made to the rising cost of living and people being forced to use credit because they have no savings, among others. Meanwhile, U.S. banks posted $268.2 billion in profits in 2024, a 5.6% increase, even as household debt increased by $94 billion.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Michael Sheen will be able to personally pay off everyone’s debt, so we’ll have to explore other options. When it comes to getting out of your own personal debt, there are many different theories, tactics, and services out there willing to lend you a hand (or help you help yourself). The Federal Trade Commission offers some viable solutions.

In terms of the systematic problems, there are again several theories and proposals posited to the government to provide debt relief to everyday people, whether it is through stimulus checks, tax cuts, or regulations to our financial institutions. If this matters to you, investigate local activist groups or candidates who are pushing for the change you want to see in debt relief, banking, or whatever else could solve this growing problem.

While it was very kind of Sheen to extend a hand to 900 people, it will require much more of us to extend a hand to so many more to ensure a better life for everybody.

Michael Sheen, debt relief, not-for-profit actor, Wales, household debt, debt acquisition, Good Omens, financial crisis, predatory lending, celebrity philanthropy YouTube

This article originally appeared earlier this year.