After starting as a welding apprentice in Sheffield, Sean Bean has become renowned as one of the UK's finest actors with roles including Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and Boromir in Lord of the Rings.
The 62-year-old is currently winning rave reviews for his turn in BBC prison drama Time.
Sean stars as the newly incarcerated Mark Cobden, who is wracked by guilt after accidentally killing an innocent man.
Despite being a firm favourite for viewers and critics, Sean almost wound up a very different career path.
When he was a child, Sean smashed a glass door during a row which led to a shard of glass becoming lodged in his leg.
The incident left a huge scar but also briefly impacted his walking which put the breaks on him pursuing his dream of playing football professionally for his beloved Sheffield United.
After leaving school with O Levels in Art and English, Sean took up a job in a supermarket and another part-time job at his father's fabric company, where his mother also worked.
On his day off Sean attended Rotherham College of Arts and Technology where he studied welding.
It was at the college that Sean stumbled upon a drama course that he impulsively decided to sign up to.
After performing in some student plays, Sean won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and started a seven-term course in 1981.
The same year he married hairdresser Debra James, who had been his secondary school sweetheart, when he was 21-years-old.
The marriage crumbled seven years later when Sean moved to London to pursue his acting.
He later tied the knot with the actress Melanie Hill, who he met while studying at RADA in 1991.
Coronation Street viewers will remember Melanie as Cathy Matthews, who played an aspiring love interest for Roy Cropper.
She also appeared in the British comedy Brassed Off and for roles in TV shows Bread, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Waterloo Road and The Syndicate.
Sean and Melanie went on to two daughters, Lorna and Molly, but their marriage ended after six years in 1997.
Three months after his divorce from Melanie was finalised, Sean married the actress Abigail Cruttenden, who he met while filming Sharpe.
They welcomed a daughter a year later but divorced in 2000.
Abigail is best known for playing Anna in Lee Mack's BBC sitcom Not Going out.
After the split, Sean started dating actress Georgina Sutcliffe.
They met in 2006 when Georgina was the manager of the bar at the West End theatre where Sean was playing Macbeth at the time.
They married in a low key ceremony at Marylebone register office in February 2008.
The same year Georgina reportedly walked out on the actor before deciding to give the marriage another go.
Following accusations of domestic disturbances - with the police being called to their Belsize Park on three occasions - Sean and Georgina announced their separation in 2010.
In 2012 the actor was questioned over claims he has been harassing Sutcliffe with abusive texts and calls.
Sean was taken into the Holborn police station in central London on suspicion of harassment and later released on bail.
The actor was told the matter would not be pursued further, a Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed at the time.
In 2013, Sean appeared to have rekindled his romance with Sutcliffe as he brought her as his date to the BAFTA Awards and they were later seen together on a mini-break in Rome.
However, months later the actor was seen with another woman hinting at their final split.
In June 2017, Sean married for the fifth time.
He tied the knot with Ashley Moore in June 2017 in Dorset.
A photo from their wedding showed Ashley beaming in a white lace gown while Sean wrapped an arm around her while holding a bottle of Corona.
When asked about love before he got married for the fifth time Sean said, "Of course, I believe in love despite four divorces. There is nobody who doesn’t believe in love."
