When the wrong question is asked during a television interview, a certain silence descends. One of those silences has happened to Michael Sheen. During the Good Omens press run, a journalist seated across from him inquired as to whether he had dressed in a bulky suit to portray the gentle, bookish angel Aziraphale. He hadn’t. He owned the body. Furthermore, the conversation never fully recovered after his story on The Graham Norton Show.
Even though it’s a brief moment, you remember it. In part because of the awkwardness, and in part because it shows us how we currently interpret actors’ bodies. A naturally rounder middle-aged man may seem like a special effect to some because we’ve become so accustomed to prosthetics and digital trickery—Chris Hemsworth was famously squeezed into a heavy latex belly for Avengers: Endgame. If you sit with that, there’s something a little depressing about it.
Sheen, on the other hand, appears unfazed. He has spent decades molding himself to suit other people. In the 2006 BBC film Fantabulosa!, he put on weight to play the camp, fragile comedian Kenneth Williams. Throughout his roles, he has softened and slimmed, treating his body the same way most actors treat their wardrobes. The Aziraphale appearance felt intentional and most likely was; it was a little fuller and softer around the face. It is more difficult to determine whether each extra pound was deliberate or just the normal math of a body going through its fifties. Both of these could be true.
The serenity surrounding it intrigues me more than the weight itself. Sheen, who was born in Newport in 1969 and received training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, became well-known for his ability to transform people, including football manager Brian Clough, David Frost, and Tony Blair, three times. He doesn’t seem to have the conceit that the business typically requires. Because he doesn’t express his beliefs loudly, you tend to believe him when he says that health is more important than jawline shape.
In the meantime, the fans argued on his behalf. Discussions on the internet centered on whether Aziraphale was “too chubby” or “not chubby enough,” with readers comparing a made-up angel to their own perceptions. Neil Gaiman reportedly heard complaints that Sheen was both too thin and too fat for the role, which indicates that the actor was never the real issue.
That chapter came to an end this spring. With a single feature-length finale on Prime Video, Good Omens came to an end in May 2026. Gaiman’s departure due to grave accusations, which he has refuted, changed the course of the production. As the angel and the demon, Sheen and David Tennant made a final appearance, and it’s difficult to avoid feeling the weight of a genuine ending rather than a fake one.
Regarding the man himself, estimates place his net worth at about $16 million, which is modest for his position due in part to the fact that he frequently donates substantial amounts of money. He paid off approximately £1 million in debt for hundreds of South Wales residents in 2024 using £100,000 of his own funds. In some way, that seems like the more accurate assessment of him. It was never a good idea to ask the fat-suit question. You get the impression from watching his career develop that he was aware of that long before the rest of us were.