Michael Sheen of David Frost in 2008's "Frost/Nixon", a film dramatisation of The Nixon Interviews of 1977. Despite appearing in the original stage production in a part written for him by Peter Morgan, Sheen was surprised to have been cast in the film: "Peter said he'd only be prepared to give the rights to someone who would cast me as Frost, which was very nice, but when the studios get their hands on something... Right up until we started filming I was prepared to be disappointed". Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" asserted that Sheen embodied his character in a "compelling, intense"
Michael Sheen nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and an Evening Standard Award for Best Actor. At this point in his career, Sheen began to devote more time to film work. "Heartlands", a little-seen 2002 film about a naive man's road trip in the Midlands, was his first leading film role. While "The Guardian" dismissed the "cloying bittersweet-regional-lottery-Britfilm", it noted that "Sheen himself has a childlike, Frank Spencer-ish charm". "It was great to do something that was so different", Sheen has said of the role. "I usually play very extreme characters." Also in 2002, he had a minor role