the first televised debate of the 20—20 us presidential election has highlighted policy differences between ten of the twenty candidates for the democratic nomination. there were heated exchanges on the issues of healthcare, tax, immigration, climate change and iran. ten more candidates will hold a second debate on thursday evening. the us congress is deadlocked about how to ease the migrant crisis on the border with mexico. the republican—controlled senate approved an emergency spending package but voted down a similar bill passed by the democrat—led house which would have placed more restrictions on how the funds are spent. italy's interior minister has said he won't allow 42 migrants aboard a rescue ship to disembark, after it defied the authorities by entering italian territorial waters.

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk. sarah montague talks to the actor michael sheen. welcome to the bbc‘s radio theatre for a special edition of hardtalk. i guess today is known around the world for his film, television and theatre work. he made his name for his uncanny ability to portray other well—known people. tony blair, david frost, roles that catapulted my not —— michael sheen into a life far from his home in port talbot. it was acting that brought him back there. where he is now immersed in tackling some of the problems that face up or community. poverty, debtand homelessness. so how does he straddle such contrasting worlds? michael sheen, welcome to hardtalk.

thank you very much. so how does the hollywood star fit in on port talbot ‘s high street? it's an interesting double life. inevitably there is a bit of that, that happens anyway. when you start to feel that, this is my hometown, but i sort of feel like my belonging, my sense of belonging is split down and thatjust kept extending. so at first it was moving down to london to come to drama school and then starting to work as an actor. and eventually that leading me to go and live in america for a while. and then, i suppose, having some fame, that inevitably can bea having some fame, that inevitably can be a separating thing as well regardless of geographical space. to the point where i am now work, it

feels very much sick straddling two worlds. i am essentially trying to have two full—time careers. worlds. i am essentially trying to have two full-time careers. and that is quite challenging. currently you just finished a couple of american series, good omens, the good fight, they are travelling far and fast. series, good omens, the good fight, they are travelling far and fastlj only do projects with the word good in them now. it's a contractual thing. but your breakthrough role as i mentioned was tony blair. which was back in the deal. that was a breakthrough here, the deal, 2003, focusing on the blair, brown relationship and a deal struck over the leadership was gobsmacked to see giving a subsequent roles, i can't do impersonations. no, i've never been... people assume i was a kid at school who did impersonations of the teachers but i was never good at it. it was a joke that i was terrible

that kind of thing. but he wouldn't say that now? i balk when the word impersonation comes up because that's not what i'm trying to do. it awaits the opposite was not i don't wa nt awaits the opposite was not i don't want people to be worried about the surface although that is part of the challenge was not and i think that's why a party like being the sort of roles. —— partly like. when you walk on stage in front of a camera and you say i'm playing david frost of whoever, someone you you say i'm playing david frost of whoever, someone you know the audience is very familiar with, you can't shake that. you have to somehow meet that because that's the expectation. the work ethic is a lwa ys expectation. the work ethic is always to try and make sure that very quickly the audience is co mforta ble very quickly the audience is comfortable with you, accept that you are playing that persons are familiar with and let go and they go on the journey with you. and you enjoy the fear of that don't you? i enjoy the fear of that don't you? i enjoy the fear of that don't you? i enjoy the challenge of that, the fear or the challenge of playing someone very fear or the challenge of playing someone very familiar is quite different for a camera that it is on stage. so when i was playing him on

stage, walking out from behind the wings and coming in front of a live audience, and saying, hello, good evening and welcome. it was like, i realised that i am a theatre animal in that sense. i like being in the room with you. and being able to kind of smell you. and then to dominate you. that's what i like. whereas on camera you can't do it. it's very they are out there somewhere and it's a very different beast. but i really don't want on stage which is frost. —— but i've only done it once on stage. i'm very aware. i want to get in amongst you. tony blair, did you ever meet him afterwards ? tony blair, did you ever meet him afterwards? did he ever commented what you made of him?|j afterwards? did he ever commented what you made of him? i paid him three times. there was the deal, the first dimension, the first i paid a real person in that sense. i played mozart before but no—one really knows what he sounds like. so you

can get away with that. but that was the first time i'd ever played a real person and that was terrifying was not what it is a about it though? i was at a dinner or something in new york and at the time, wendy murdoch was there and she came up to me and said, i'm having a dinnerfor tony, would you like to come? and i thought, well, i've played him twice now. it would be interesting to see how he moves through a room and that kind of stuff. so i thought yes, 0k. then i realised, that means, where is this dinner? 0h, realised, that means, where is this dinner? oh, it's our place in la. i ended up going to rupert murdoch ‘s house which is on the top of one of the hollywood hills. it was like a villains layer. but on the top of a hill looking out across all of la.

and i get out of the car, and there are snipers upon the roof and stop and it was like walking onto the death star. and i go in and wendy comes out and immediately ushers me straight through out to this area where people were milling around and suddenly i'm standing in front of tony blair and she is saying, tony, look, it's you. in the two of us are standing there looking at each other not quite knowing what to do. and people said, tony, what do you think of michael's performances? he said, i've never seen. seriously? of michael's performances? he said, i've neverseen. seriously? people went away and he took to me in detail about scenes within each little thing. the second time you paid him was in the queen, and you have been refreshingly honest because this was your breakthrough

international role about the reaction to her and the other more subdued reaction to you.” reaction to her and the other more subdued reaction to you. i sort of started, i would say to peter morgan, who wrote it, i said you keep writing these things that's about two people. and the other one is always more interesting. why do i a lwa ys is always more interesting. why do i always play the boring one? and over was thought, suddenly at that time the things he was writing about often were about and i don't mean this ina often were about and i don't mean this in a pejorative way, it was the monster at the heart of the labyrinth and then there's the hero that was looking for it. and the audience find their way through with the hero but it's the monster that's interesting. it's the monster that's fascinating and in the queen, the most is the queen was not and that's just the way it was. across all your roles, millions of people will have seen you roles, millions of people will have seen you but it was something that presumably only a few thousand people saw that you described as

undoubtedly the most significant thing in my career but also the most significant thing in my life, probably. and this was of all things, it's quite hard to explain but it was, the passion play in port albert. -- port talbot. not quite sure what it was called... gives a sense of the extraordinary nurse of the event. for anyone that doesn't know. in 2011, i created and was pa rt know. in 2011, i created and was part creator of a production, the article production, i guess. in my hometown of port talbot, it took about two and a half years to develop and ultimately it was a single performance, a live performance that lasted non—stop for 72 hours that took place all over the town. and it was about the town and it was with, i worked with about two d oze n and it was with, i worked with about two dozen local people on it ultimately. and it took place over

the easter weekend. and it was... the template for the production, it was a story based on the events of the passion of christ. but, it was a modern—day story and it was telling ultimately a story about that town. so you, thejesus type figure, you are being... he was a competence of school teacher who disappeared was not and you were crucified at the end of it. he was ultimately killed on the roundabout, yes. and when we began, the first official episode, we did it in what i call episodes in the first official episode didn't happen until i believe it was about two o'clock on good friday afternoon. but i spread rumours that if you were to come to the beach when the sun rose you might see something. so there are maybe 100 or so something. so there are maybe 100 or so people there. we should explain, by the end... depending on who you

ask, there was anywhere between 10— 15,000 people. and the town has a population of 40,000. yes. the point of the character was that he arrived, he was someone from the local community who disappeared, he had a breakdown. 0n the morning of good friday, he appears down by the sea. he's lost his memory and over the weekend he asks people to tell them stories about the town and what has been lost and what has been the and what people have memories of anti— starts to become a receptacle of all this stuff and when he is finally on the cross, he remembers everything to stop any start listing a litany of things in the actual town that have disappeared. and that motivation for you was an inspiration that came where you were in the vatican. he thought, what is happening now in port talbot is what was happening then.” happening now in port talbot is what was happening then. i was on holiday in italy and i went to rome, i've

never been to rome before, and i was very excited to go to rome. and i went to st peter's and i was quite overwhelmed. it's quite overwhelming being in there. i needed to have a sit down for a minute and i saw off in the corner, just of the bill area that had some chairs and there was nobody there so i went to sat down there, there was a light on it. attended —— it turned out to be centuries of chapel. it sat there and they were paintings on the walls around me picketing jesus ministry. all the things he did, tending to the sick children, the dying, the grieving, all that kind of stuff and asi grieving, all that kind of stuff and as i sat there, i thought that is exactly what people are doing in port talbot right now. there are organisations and charities and support groups, carers and teachers and nurses and hospices and all these things and i thought, that is whatjesus did. and that is what community is. that is how we keep

community is. that is how we keep community going and in that moment it clicked for me. i was telling the story ofjesus but it's not the story ofjesus but it's not the story ofjesus but it's not the story ofjesus. it is the story of the community that are doing that. and the port talbot was the kind of marginalised. the motorway goes through it, no—one stops there. it is seen as being dirty because of the industry and if it was a person, it would be a person thatjesus would have dealt with. the interesting thing for you, you insist you are not religious but you do this play and then you, yourself, for example, take on the moneylenders in wales. and you set up moneylenders in wales. and you set up this and high court —— and high cost credit alliance. what happened, the passion happened in 2011, and as a result of that and me becoming more connected to these different groups and organisations in the town, and having a sense of what it is that keeps communities alive. and very challenging circumstances was a

i wanted to stay connected. and they wa nted i wanted to stay connected. and they wanted me to talk about them, have a photograph, because the other experience i had over the two and a half years or whatever it was developing it, iwould half years or whatever it was developing it, i would come to the town and away and come back, and go away. is china came back i would notice something had gone. something had disappeared for stops some servers had been cut and i was very aware of the challenges that were there and how support was being taken away actively taken away. because of council budgets been cut and all that kind of stuff. my awareness of the importance of what people were doing their was very connected to a bigger picture, mop a little -- connected to a bigger picture, mop a little —— more political with a sense of what the context of that was and i started to not only want to become more involved with the groups but also starting to try and see if i could do something in terms of the big picture as well. and that

eventually led to me getting to the point where i was like, i don't want to just have a picture taken, i don't want to just have my face in the paper or my name is the patron saint, iwant the paper or my name is the patron saint, i want to do more than that. i was getting to a point in my career as well since 2011, over the next five or six years where work was very good for me. i had a lot of shows, i didn't have to audition for things anymore, i could work whenever i wanted to which meant that i had a fairly steady supply of financial resources, i had a media resource, i could talk about things andi resource, i could talk about things and i thought, either i have to take and i thought, either i have to take a step back now because it's too much or, i have to take a step forward and i have to change things. and the circumstances of my life are such that our daughter was about to leave home, i had lived in america because she grabbed the and i wanted to be with her and she was leaving and all the planets just aligned and i could spend more time in britain and really do this.

but did you get pushback from people perhaps still who say what do you know? you have this hollywood life, seriously, what difference can you make? and that's a very good thing to say. i think anyone who gets involved in the sort of things i've got involved in needs to be... people need to be suspicious of me, people need to not trust that what you say is going to happen. i mean, just because you have some celebrity doesn't mean you get a free pass. these are important things. people rely on this stuff. people are dependent on the kind of support groups and the work that people are doing, people depend on that. i think it is important, and what i have realised, of course, is that one of the most important resources ican give, one of the most important resources i can give, one of the most valuable things i can give, is time, so that you are not just things i can give, is time, so that you are notjust turning up, doing something and running off, your commitment is long—term, and that you really commit to really trying to do as much as you can to

understand these issues, because they are incredibly complicated. you know, it's not just they are incredibly complicated. you know, it's notjust soundbites, it's not just know, it's notjust soundbites, it's notjust going on twitter and writing something ra nty. notjust going on twitter and writing something ranty. these are really complex. 0k, writing something ranty. these are really complex. ok, so let's look at one of the things you are doing, because you lead the bid to get the homeless football world cup in cardiff, which is coming up next month. and it is a strange idea, homeless football. it is hard to imagine even how you get a team together, because you've got 500 people, 50 countries. there are over 500 players coming to represent their countries, and they are coming from over 50 different countries, yes. how does it work? what's the point? so it started for me with an organisation called street foot wales, which is a kind of grassroots organisation, and they are the people who create the welsh teams for the homeless football world cup each year, and they got in touch with me and said look, we use foot fault as a way to try and break down boundaries around homelessness and

social exclusion, and we create tournaments and teams and leagues. do you want to come and get involved? and do you want to come and get involved ? and my do you want to come and get involved? and my reaction was exactly the same, why are you putting money and energy into doing football for homeless people? just deal with the homelessness. and then i realised the brilliance of how it works, which is that of course the football is the hook, that is what brings people in, that is what gets people to... people who feel like they have been on the outside for so long, feel very alienating, i have all kinds of difficulties in around socialising and having access to services and all that sort of stuff. people come and they get a bit of self—confidence, they feel part of a team, suddenly they are a bit more motivated, health and well—being sta rts motivated, health and well—being starts to pick up a little bit, and thenif starts to pick up a little bit, and then if you take her to the next stage, which is you get to represent your country, you know, iwent stage, which is you get to represent your country, you know, i went to the first homeless world cup i went to was in oslo, norway, a few years ago. and there are people there who at that point were struggling with

addictions, may be to do with heroin or alcohol, you know, struggling with that at that time. and i remember watching someone score a goalfor the first time. remember watching someone score a goal for the first time. they'd never scored a goal. it was a woman called dee, she doesn't mind me saying her name, she scored a goal for the first time and i had just been sitting with her and hearing her talking about how she hadn't seen her talking about how she hadn't seen her children and so long and how she was having a tough time that day with stuff, and i watched her score a goal... i am very tired at the moment. and i saw how transformational that can be. not just scoring a goal, but being a pa rt just scoring a goal, but being a part of that event, and i saw how it affected her after that.” part of that event, and i saw how it affected her after that. i have to ask you, you go from that which obviously has a profound effect on you, and then you are filming. yes. is that hard? it's not hard. it is... so for instance, you mentioned

good 0mens, which is a tv series which is out of the moment, which i am in. we shot a which is out of the moment, which i am in. we shota lot which is out of the moment, which i am in. we shot a lot of that in 0xfordshire. and at the time i would be travelling from where we were filming in 0xfordshire back to port talbot, the same day, and part of what i do is make sure if i am filming somewhere for a long time, i have enough time within it to come back and forth and be able to do the things i need to do around the other work. and so i would be travelling from 0xfordshire to port talbot. and i would be going from the most beautiful postcard kind of villages, with gorgeous amenities, and really lovely communities there, with all kinds of wonderful things, and then going back through the m4 corridor, through the south wales valleys, where there was very much not that being the case. and that makes you feel like this is not a level playing field. it is nothing against the people, but itjust reminds you that there is... the context that this takes place in is not random.

it is not by chance. and we're talking about at a time when the area you were in, which was very strong labour supporting, in the most strong labour supporting, in the m ost rece nt strong labour supporting, in the most recent european elections, the brexit party top the poll with 32%, from out of nowhere. yes, and there's a lot of contradictions, you think about the miners' strike around 84—85, and that a lot of the people in the areas that were fighting during the miners' strike to hold onto their work, and the people they were fighting against, you could say that they ended up voting in lockstep around brexit. and that is just fascinating. that is very interesting. why might that happen? so i was sort of interested in that. 0k, happen? so i was sort of interested in that. ok, but you are not accepting that it is wanting out of the eu because of what the eu stands for. i think it's a lot of things. i think some people absolutely were voting because they just think some people absolutely were voting because theyjust don't like the idea of what being part of the european union is to them, and i think everybody has a very personal

thing about it. i think there definitely is, because i have seen it and definitely is, because i have seen itandi definitely is, because i have seen it and i have spoken to people, there is a huge amount of anger and resentment in a lot of communities about what was being lost and what was not replaced, and a lot of blame for that goes into all kinds of areas, and it is very interesting to look into that. my biggest motivating factor around the effects of or the aftermath of the brexit vote, what i have held onto, is that in that first period afterwards, it was a huge shock for the country, i think, in terms of its self—image, and particularly in the sort of metropolitan centres, and within the media. and there was a sense of, oh my goodness, our country is not what we thought it was, and we now have to open up to what is going on in communities that we don't often go and look into, we don't report from. there was a real effort to kind of

open that window, and i have watched as that has closed. i have watched as, in that shock, i think part of me was feeling like, well, there is a very positive aspect to this, which is that maybe the plight of these communities... and you don't think that is any longer the case?” think that is any longer the case?” think that is any longer the case?” think that slowly started to change into whose on this side, who's on that side? and the media as well started to kind of go, no, we are in control of this thing. no, we know what this story is. and that has been quite a scary thing, that the actual issues have not changed. because you have talked about coming back to see if you can... trying to do something about the frustrations and the anger that is there. well, that's what i mean. do you think you can, though? well, my starting point was to go... go and listen to people. when i asked people what other things that frustrate you, what are the things that you are finding difficult? and of course, even that conversation is difficult. how do you mediate that conversation, as someone how do you mediate that conversation, as someone who is

coming... has the life i have and is doing the things i do. already you... it is like point in physics, just your act of observation affects what you discover. everything that you are saying leads to the obvious question, which is whether, and why wouldn't you, stand as a politician? well, there's a lot of reasons for why that is not a good idea for me. and one of them is... do you rule it out? well, i don't relate out because i don't rule anything out. but what is the most effective use of what i can do can change from any moment to moment. and at the moment ido moment to moment. and at the moment i do not believe that that is the most effective use of what i can do. at the moment, politicians are one of the strings, one of the leaders to pull. they arejust of the strings, one of the leaders to pull. they are just one of them. i don't want to suddenly become one of those letters, i want to be able to pull as many letters as i can. my biggest strength is i don't work for anybody. —— levers. my biggest

strength is i don't work for anybody. i can say whatever i want, and why would i suddenly find myself ina and why would i suddenly find myself in a position where i have to go, what does the leader want me to say? i don't want to do that. michael sheen, thank you for coming on hardtalk. applause hello. 0ur much—advertised summer heat this week is yet to kick in, and when it does, it'll be very brief. but on the continent, as you may have heard, the european heatwave is in full swing, and on wednesday, new june temperature records

were set in germany, poland, czech republic to above 38 celsius. the best we could manage in the uk was 25 in wales. and to start thursday morning, where you're clear in scotland and northern england, mid single figures could be yours. a lot of low cloud from east wales across central, eastern and southern england once again, but that's going to clear more readily than on wednesday. it may hang on towards lincolnshire, norfolk. it mayjust push back in more generally back towards the north sea coast later in the day. northern scotland staying rather cloudy, elsewhere abundant sunshine. it's going to be sunny at glastonbury, though it will be windy here. in fact, even stronger winds towards cornwall and devon. these are average speeds, but there'll be stronger gusts through thursday into early friday, maybe approaching 50mph to the west of higher ground. this offshore cloud will keep northern coastal counties with on—shore cloud close to the mid—teens, whereas elsewhere, it is going to be a warmer day in the sunshine, into the mid—20s for the warm spots in the west.

now, as we go through thursday night into friday, a lot of low cloud lurking in the north sea, and that'll start to just filter further inland once again. could make for a rather dull, grey start to friday morning, particularly across the eastern side of the uk. but once again, we're going to see that push on back away from the coastline as we go through the day. high pressure is now moving towards the north sea on friday, and by then, we're finally tapping into some of this continental heat and humidity across the western side of the uk, with abundant sunshine. so here, it's going to feel hotter on friday. so here's how it's looking on friday. remember that cloudy start through central and eastern areas, but there goes the low cloud, slowly retreating to the north sea coast. but again, where it lingers here, with an on—shore breeze, it's going to feel cooler than elsewhere. but in the west, in the sunshine, more places will be into the upper 20s. even into the hotspots of north—west scotland, we could be near 30 degrees. but then on saturday, for northern ireland and scotland, it's atlantic air taking over once again, with showers and thunderstorms. the heat on saturday is transferring further east across much

more of england. temperatures will be near 30 celsius, 32—33 is possible in south—east england. but then for part two of the weekend on sunday, it's all change. the cold front is moving through, followed by cooler, atlantic air with a few showers, and temperatures fall back more towards average for the time of year.

this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: the first ten hopefuls in the race to be the democrats' nominee for president go head to head — with elizabeth warren and cory booker standing out. after a shocking image emerges of the death of a father and child on the us—mexico border, president trump blames the migrant crisis on the democrats. italy's government blocks 42 migrants rescued in the mediterranean from entering the country. is fast fashion still on trend? h&m battles online rivals and growing concerns over sustainability.