Michael Sheen confirms he is not quitting acting for politics in 'what I did not say' post

Michael Sheen has moved to clarify speculation surrounding his career after claims he is quitting acting to pursue politics.

Following an interview with the Times Magazine, a report from the newspaper claimed the Welsh actor "has declared that he is leaving Hollywood to commit himself to political activism and to opposing demagogues and fascists".

The actor acknowledges that he has become more involved with community issues in his home country, and said he may eventually put his career on hold, but had not decided to quit acting yet.

Following the publication, the 47-year-old took to Twitter and said: "Before this gets ridiculous I said I'm thinking I might start acting less and maybe even stop for a while at some point but don't know yet."

Sheen, who has a role in sci-fi film Passengers starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, asked during the interview: "How can I be most effective? […] What am I going to do?"

Noting a shift in the political landscape, he said that things will have changed dramatically within a decade and added: "The dice are being rolled again."

As speculation over Sheen's acting career continued to gather momentum, he took to a blog to shed some light on his plans. In the post, entitled "What I did not say", he wrote: "I did one interview with The Times of London a few weeks ago, parts of which (including a headline that is not a quote) have been picked up by a lot of other outlets. I DID NOT [sic] declare that I'm 'quitting acting and leaving Hollywood' to go into politics.

"In the actual original interview I said I have become more involved with community issues back at home over the last few years and because of the political situation it's something I would like to focus on more. The interviewer asked me what that meant for my career and I said it might mean I work less as an actor and maybe even stop for a while AT SOME POINT. But I don't really know yet.

"I certainly did NOT equate people who voted for Brexit or Trump with a fascistic 'hard right' that must be stopped. The majority of people in the UK, including my hometown of Port Talbot, voted for Brexit. That is the will of the people and is to be respected. That is democracy.

"Given the concerns around the economy in the area I come from and its industrial history I totally empathise with the dissatisfaction with the status quo that the vote was partially an expression of.

"What I think must be resisted is the re-emerging spectre of fascism in the West. Our democracy must be defended and each of us needs to decide how we can contribute to that effort."