Kicking off his acting career in the 1980s, Sean Bean became popular in early 1990s with his portrayal of Captain Richard Sharpe in British TV dramas "Sharpe". By 2011, he landed recurring role as Eddard Stark on hit fantasy drama series "Game of Thrones". He won Portal Award for Best Actor and was nominated for a Saturn Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as two Scream Awards. His other notable TV appearances were those on British anthology "Accused", for which he won International Emmy Award for Best Actor, and crime drama "Legends".

On the big screen, Bean was most popular for his portrayal of Boromir in "The Lord of the Rings" films; "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King". He, moreover, was also signed to act in "Equilibrium", "National Treasure", "Troy", "North Country", "Silent Hill", "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief", "Silent Hill: Revelation 3D", also "Jupiter Ascending".

Bean was born Shaun Mark Bean in Handsworth, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England on April 17, 1959. He's been married four times and all the marriages ended up in divorce. His first wife was his secondary school sweetheart Debra James, whom he married on April 11, 1981. Following their divorce in 1988, he then married actress Melanie Hill on February 27, 1990. The couple had two children together; Lorna (b. 1987) and Molly (b. 1991). They got divorced in August 1997. Bean's third wife was actress Abigail Cruttenden, whom he married from 1997 to 2000. They had a daughter, Evie Natasha (b. 1998). He afterwards married his fourth wife actress Georgina Sutcliffe from 2008 to 2010.