Matthew Rhys says Michael Sheen puts Welsh actors to shame

Matthew Rhys will play Richard Burton in a one-man show with the Welsh National Theatre

Emmy Award-winner Matthew Rhys says Michael Sheen has been putting other Welsh actors to shame with his good deeds and now it is his turn to "step up".

Rhys, who grew up in Cardiff but now lives in New York, is set to return to the Welsh stage for the first time in two decades to raise money for the Welsh National Theatre.

The actor, who plays Nile Jarvis in Netflix's The Beast in Me, will play Richard Burton, in a one-man play.

Rhys said it was Burton who inspired him to act and "blazed the trail for us all".

Rhys said he was returning to Wales for a series of shows across the country, ending with a special performance in Bethel Chapel Café in Burton's birthplace Pontrhydyfen in Neath Port Talbot.

He said: "Michael Sheen has been putting all us Welsh actors to shame by setting up Welsh National Theatre so, when a space appeared in my schedule, I felt it was my time to step up.

"When Covid hit, I prepared a production of Playing Burton but have never had the chance to perform it on stage.

"With 2025 being both Burton's centenary year and the first year of the Welsh National Theatre, it felt right to return to the Welsh stage for the first time in 20-plus years," he said.

"The reason I wanted to act was because of Richard Burton.

"Since first seeing his incredible performance in Look Back in Anger to still listening to his audio of Hamlet and Under Milk Wood. He blazed the trail for us all and showed us it was possible."

The one-man show, Playing Burton, looks at Burton's beginnings in south Wales to his rise as one of the greatest performers of his generation.

Charting his passionate love affair with Elizabeth Taylor and his very public struggle with alcoholism, the play explores fame, ambition, and identity.

It was written by Mark Jenkins, directed by Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher and produced by Maris Lyons.

In 1960 Richard Burton starred opposite Julie Andrews in a Broadway production of Camelot

Michael Sheen said: "Matthew got in touch with me to say he had a window in his diary so how could he help Welsh National Theatre.

"What started with a simple message has turned into a tour where people across our country can see one of our greatest actors play one of our greatest actors, all in the year of Richard Burton's centenary."

He added that the whole thing has a "special kind of serendipity" and is "exactly what we wanted to unlock with Welsh National Theatre".

Welsh National Theatre is funded by Hollywood actor Michael Sheen and will be based in Swansea, where his theatrical journey started

Councillor Cen Phillips, cabinet member for nature, tourism and wellbeing at Neath Port Talbot Council, said: "Richard Burton's career spanned decades and instilled a lifelong love of performing arts within millions.

"He remained proud of his Port Talbot roots throughout it all, and we hope these performances encourage and inspire more people to engage with the arts in Wales.

"It feels as though Burton is passing the torch to the Welsh National Theatre to continue representing Wales on the international stage, providing opportunities for Welsh actors to find new heights of success – if our Richard Burton can do it, so can others."