Michael Sheen’s Favorite Movie Will Fill the Good Omens-Shaped Hole in Your Heart
Michael Sheen’s beloved film says a lot about how perfect his casting for Good Omens really is.
Years ago, back in 2011 when Michael Sheen was known for his Twilight role as Aro of the Volturi, the actor revealed to MTV.com that his all-time favorite movie was Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s fantasy romance feature, A Matter of Life and Death, which was also known as Stairway to Heaven in the U.S.
The 1946’s film, starring David Niven, follows a British pilot who has a near-death experience (which should’ve been fatal) as he presents his case before a celestial court and tries to bargain for his life.
Sheen called the movie “incredibly progressive for its time” and “very challenging.” He considered it to be a work of art that was “beautifully shot” and “fantastically acted.”
The thing that the actor loved most about A Matter of Life and Death was the fact that it featured two “forms of reality” – the world where the main character lives, loves, and almost dies and the world of angels and other fantastical things.
The Good Omens star hasn’t seemed to change his mind about his favorite film since. In 2019, one X user asked him this question again, and Sheen’s answer remained the same, so it is safe to say that he probably still loves A Matter of Life and Death today.
Funnily enough, Sheen’s favorite movie is incredibly similar to his latest project, Good Omens.
1. An Unusual Biblical Theme
The celestial forces play a major role in both A Matter of Life and Death and Good Omens, but not in the traditional way that you’d expect from a fantasy movie or show about angels and such.
2. A Love Story That Transcends Death
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A Matter of Life and Death tells a love story between Peter, the pilot, and June, the radio operator, in times of war, while Good Omens focuses on an even more epic love story between an angel and a demon, who have been together through thick and thin.
3. A Bureaucratic Hell in Heaven
Both Sheen’s favorite movie and his latest project explore a different version of the afterlife, one that is not all fun cloud-jumping and celestial games, but rather a highly organized space full of bureaucracy.
By the way, keep an eye out for A Matter of Life and Death Easter eggs in Good Omens season 2 – there are plenty of them!