Posted: December 17, 2016 11:45 PM
In the interview, Sheen was misquoted after seemingly hinting that he would be leaving Hollywood to fight against the "hard populist right."
"In the same way as the Nazis had to be stopped in Germany in the Thirties, this thing that is on the rise has to be stopped" said Sheen.
In his Tumblr post on Saturday night Michael Sheen Clarified that "I DID NOT declare that I'm 'quitting acting and leaving Hollywood' to go into politics. In the actual original interview I said I have become more involved with community issues back at home over the last few years and because of the political situation it's something I would like to focus on more. The interviewer asked me what that meant for my career and I said it might mean I work less as an actor and maybe even stop for a while AT SOME POINT. But I don't really know yet."
He added, "I certainly did NOT equate people who voted for Brexit or Trump with a fascistic 'hard right' that must be stopped. The majority of people in the U.K., including my hometown of Port Talbot, voted for Brexit."
He also credited the Brexit decision (he said he was "sad and frustrated") and U.S. presidential election in favor of now-President-elect Donald Trump for motivating him to feel a "massive urgency" about the current political climate.
"It's not going to look like this in ten years' time," he said. "Everything has shifted. The dice are being rolled again."
And while he admitted to feeling "terrified" in the current state of politics, he added there is "a freedom in it."
He also admitted that he was unsure if his relationship with girlfriend Sarah Silverman would survive his move back to England. The couple has been linked since February 2014 and both starred in Showtime's now-cancelled Masters of Sex.
Sheen said he developed an increasing role in activism after connecting with community organizations while participating in street performances with over 1,000 volunteers as part of the National Theatre Wales's production of The Passion in Port Talbot, Wales in 2011.
"It will be a big change for how people relate to me" said Sheen on the career switch-up. "Once I'm in, I'm fully in, and this is big. As soon as you start to be effective, then people try to crush you, because it's dangerous."