Port Talbot actor, Michael Sheen, has had his DNA analysed for S4C television programme DNA Cymru.
Michael Sheen speaks to presenter Alistair Moffat at the Seaside Social and Labour Club in Sandfields
Michael already had some prior knowledge of his father’s Irish roots, however the DNA test revealed a far more in-depth look showing how his direct father line linked him to one of the most significant movements of people around ancient Europe.
The actor’s heritage could be traced back to the Beaker People who spread the secrets of metal-making as they traded goods and ideas all along the Atlantic seaboard around 4,500 years ago.
“I love the idea of us as a people as being all interconnected,” said Michael, “Especially at the moment when there’s so much emotive talk about immigrants and refugees.”
He added: “It’s a completely false sense that we have of these borders, these things that keep us apart. We’re actually one people, constantly moving around and connecting with each other in different ways.
Michael chose to receive the results to the test in his hometown, in one of his favourite haunts, the Seaside Social and Labour Club in Sandfields. “Port Talbot is the place I have the most personal connection to in the world,” he explained. “This is where I keep coming back to.
“I take great pride in being Welsh and in being a Celt more generally. And so knowing that I’ve been a Celt for a very long time, I like that.”
Michael’s full DNA reveal and reaction was in the S4C documentary series DNA Cymru on Sunday 13 December, but you can still watch the programme on S4C’s catch-up service and English subtitles are available. The DNA TV series is part of the Cymru DNA Wales project, https://www.cymrudnawales.com/