When fans saw Game of Thrones star Sean Bean near Wincanton it was hard to believe that the man once named the second greatest Yorkshireman that ever lived was moving to genteel Somerset.
Rumours started swirling after diners at The Wagtail pub spotted the Lord of the Rings star in the county amid reports he was looking at a property near the small village of Maperton, Wincanton.
The rumours about him moving here turned out to be true and over the last six years, Bean has given several interviews in which he has revealed why he moved to Somerset and how he has finally found peace in the county.
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And by the sounds of it, any fans hoping to bump into the five-times married, Sharpe actor might be better hanging around local garden centres than the Somerset celebrity set.
So why did Sean move from London?
According to the 62-year-old it was because he had been driven out of his home in Belsize Park that he once shared fourth wife Georgina Sutcliffe by neighbours “who objected to everything”.
They divorced in 2010 and Sean told The Times his neighbours “went to solicitors” about his pet chickens in the garden.
“I wanted to put a roof terrace up for wildlife: they got together, having wine parties talking about how they were going to stop me,” he added.
“I thought ‘F*** me, I’ve had enough of all this.”
(Image: Handout)
Why not Hollywood?
Sean once lived in the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles when he was starring in films like National Treasure and Flightplan with Jodie Foster.
But he told an interviewer: “I don’t think I could ever put down roots there. It’s one thing living in a hotel and knowing you’re going to be going home and another thing settling.”
Why Somerset?
Bean is known as a man of few words and when not working he prefers solitary pursuits such as reading, listening to music, playing the piano, welding and sketching.
But the actor, who married fifth wife Ashley Moore in 2017, says his favourite pastime is gardening and he is out there “most days”.
“We bought the house from a designer called Ken Bolan, and we fell in love with the way he’d created this kind of haven,” he told one interviewer.
“I’ve made it a little bit wilder. “
When a Grade II listed mansion in Totteridge, north London where he lived with his third wife, Abigail Cruttenden, went on the market for £6 million, it became clear he didn’t intend going back to the capital.
What is his Somerset garden like?
The word he uses most to describe it is “wild”.
“When we moved to Somerset I left the garden alone for a year, so I saw what grew naturally and what didn’t, and I went with that,” he told one interviewer.
” I planted trees, shrubs, plants and flowers that actually do well in my garden. I didn’t go with fancy stuff that you have to keep taking in and out and looking after.
“I just think, if it dies, it dies, it’s not supposed to be here; and if it survives, I’ll plant more of it.”
Over lockdown he planted lots of trees and put in bird boxes and bat boxes.
“I take it quite slowly and then I reap the benefit year by year, which is a wonderful feeling,” he once said.
Where did the love of gardening come from?
Growing up in Sheffield in the ’60s and ’70s he loved football and exploring derelict farms, scrapheaps and old bomb craters with friends.
Gradually he became interested in birdwatching and started roaming the pockets of greenery in the industrial, steel city.
“My granddad did a lot of vegetable and fruit gardening, and he was very regimented, but he got great produce,” he once said.
“And there was my next-door neighbour, a guy called Ron Howard, who was our neighbour for about 40 or 50 years. I learnt a lot from both of them, and I gradually grew into gardening as well.
” I remember planting trees in Mum and Dad’s garden; it wasn’t very big, but I tried to get as much hawthorn and native trees and bushes as I could, and loads of nest boxes for the birds. That was how I got into gardening.”
Why does he like it?
He likes it because he forgets about work and says it helps free his mind from everyday stress.
“I find I just focus on the moment,” he told one interviewer.
” It’s a kind of mindful process: you know where you are, you know you’re in the present, but at the same time your mind is wandering and visualising and imaging colours and structures and shapes,” he said.
” It’s precise, in the sense that you know exactly what you’re doing, but other ideas are also formulating – you’re planning for the future without really recognising that. It’s an interesting state of mind.”
What does he wear?
His uniform is either overalls or a camouflage T-shirt he gets every year for Christmas from his wife and kids but always takes them off when not in the garden.
“I’m not going to go to the supermarket wearing camouflage and hiding behind bushes or anything like that!,” he told the Financial Times.
“I’ve also got a few pairs of boxer shorts with nice little pictures of tools on them – hammers and chisels – so that puts me in the mood and I think, right, I’ve got work to do. Sounds a bit crazy, but it works for me. “
He is a big fan of Monty Don.
He watches Gardeners World every week and says he likes the way Monty Don goes with nature rather than fighting against ti.
“He has a wonderful way of looking at gardening,” he explained in one interview.
“He is more of a naturalist in a sense and almost like a painter in the way he treats and visualises the world around him.”
Does he still like Somerset?
He told one interviewer he was “fortunate to live in the county and added: “In Somerset I feel as if I’ve really found the place where I feel settled and content.”
When asked about favourite place in the world he said: “If this is a heart thing, then it would probably be my home town, Sheffield.
“If it is somewhere now that I’ve chosen to be, it’s here in Somerset..”
What next?
He recently appeared in Tim, Jimmy McGovern’s acclaimed three-part series Time so there are no plans to retire just yet.
The grandfather of four told an interviewer he loves what he does and enjoys the challenge of experimenting with new roles.
“But I value my time out of that also,” he said.
” I really enjoy my time at home with my family, with my wife and with nature. “
