Michael Sheen: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

3. David Frost - Frost/Nixon (2008)

Of course, there's a reason for Sheen's reputation for bringing real-life figures to glittering life on the silver screen. Not only does he manage to imbue them with a real sense of being a person, not a caricature - his performances do involve learning mannerisms, vocal patterns, and a lot of make up, but he's also wary of being one-dimensional - but the projects are good, too. It probably wouldn't be all that interesting to see Sheen starring in a David Frost biopic where the long-time television presenter does his weekly Breakfast With Frost series. Plus, he'd have to put a lot more old-person prosthetics on. Seeing the infamous series of interviews with recently impeached US President Richard Nixon, though? Ron Howard's direction of Frost/Nixon is rather flat; the script - adapted from a play by long-time Sheen collaborator Peter Morgan - is where it really shines, as well as how Frank Langella, as Nixon, and Sheen, as Frost, bring it to life. Their vocal sparring matches reveal as much about themselves as it does each other, with Sheen particularly elevating Frost from simply a familiar pop culture figure.