During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Bean became an established actor on British television. In 1990, Bean starred in Jim Sheridan's adaption of the John B. Keane play "The Field". Also in 1990, his role as the journalist Anton in "Windprints" examined the difficult problems of apartheid in South Africa. He appeared in the BBC productions "Clarissa" (1991) (with Saskia Wickham and Lynsey Baxter) and "Lady Chatterley" (1993) (with Joely Richardson). In 1996, he combined his love of football with his career to finally achieve his childhood dream of playing for Sheffield United, starring as Jimmy Muir in the film "When Saturday Comes". Although the film was not critically acclaimed, Bean received credit for a good performance. In August 1997, Bean appeared in what became a famous Sky Sports commercial for the upcoming 1997–98 Premier League season. His football related work continued in 1998 when he narrated "La Coupe de la Gloire", the official film of the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France.