My daughter shouts 'Michael Sheen is in the building' in public, says actor

Actor Michael Sheen has said his daughter has started acting "like she's my agent" by loudly announcing his name in public - much to his embarrassment.

Sheen said his middle daughter Lyra, six, had started shouting "Michael Sheen is here!" when they are out as a family.

The Good Omens star said it had been a "weird trajectory" to see his daughter realise he is famous, even wanting to be in fan photos with him.

Having played Sir Tony Blair three times, Sheen also revealed on Ant and Dec's Hanging Out podcast how he came face-to-face with the former prime minister, despite trying to avoid meeting the famous figures he portrays.

As part of an episode to mark St David's Day, Sheen spoke of how Lyra had got used to people approaching her dad.

"It started with people coming up, saying hello and wanting to talk to [me]," Sheen said.

"And I could see her starting to notice this when she was very little.

"The first thing she started doing was, if somebody came up to me, she'd say, 'and my name is Lyra'."

"Then if it was a photo, 'can I be in the photograph?'

He said that the interactions had now evolved to "this thing like she's my agent".

"She'll suddenly shout out 'Michael Sheen is in the building!'".

He also revealed he had been dubbed "Sheenie the genie" by his youngest daughter Mabli after his role in Swansea Grand Theatre's Christmas pantomime, Aladdin.

As well as fictional characters, Sheen has played former prime minister Blair, football legend Brian Clough, journalist David Frost, as well as comic actor Kenneth Williams and former Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host Chris Tarrant.

But Sheen said he prefers not to meet the real-life figures he portrays.

"I've always avoided meeting the person if they are alive, to begin with at least," he said.

"Because I feel like if I've met someone and you have some sort of relationship with them, then you feel beholden in a way," he said, adding it creates a "different level of responsibility".

"If you know them as well, I think that just makes it harder because warts and all, you have to try and find a fully-rounded character."

He made a rare exception when he played Blair for a third time, when he accepted an invite to a dinner at Rupert Murdoch's house that the former prime minister would also be at.

"He'd already been on record talking about The Queen, so we knew he'd seen it," Sheen said.

He added that when he arrived, he was "swept in front of" Blair immediately, and the dinner host joked, "Tony, it's you".

Despite acting oblivious in front of the other partygoers, Blair opened up to Sheen when everyone dispersed.

"He brought up actual moments within [the film] so it was clear he'd seen it."

Sheen joked that he was kept "far away" from Blair once the dinner started, sitting on the opposite end of the table.