MICHAEL SHEEN - SHEEN'S DAD SCORED OWN GOAL WITH SON'S SOCCER DREAM

SHEEN'S DAD SCORED OWN GOAL WITH SON'S SOCCER DREAM

British actor MICHAEL SHEEN is eternally grateful he carved out a career as a successful actor - because his dad ruined his chances of becoming a professional soccer player.
The Frost/Nixon star is a dedicated fan of the popular game, and grew up with dreams of becoming a superstar sports player.
And he confesses he came close to scoring his career goal, until his father refused an offer for him to join the youth squad of U.K. soccer giant Arsenal.
He tells Britain's Esquire magazine, "When I was 12, I was asked to go and play for the Arsenal youth team.
"We were at Pontin's (holiday park) on the Isle of Wight and Tony Adams' (former soccer player) dad was there - with Tony Adams - on holiday. His dad saw me playing football and went up to my dad and said, 'How would you feel about him doing this?' My dad said, 'Well, he's only 12 and it would mean living in London, so if you're still interested when he's 16, we'll talk about it again.'
"It was too late by then, but I'd got into acting, thankfully."