Sean Bean, pictured here at Handsworth Medical Centre in October 2005, is passionate about gardening. He has told how his love of nature dates back to his childhood, when he says his next door neighbour, Ron Howard, 'taught me a lot about natural history and ornithology and plants'. "I still have some of his plants that I'm growing in my garden," he once said in an interview.placeholder image
Sean Bean, pictured here at Handsworth Medical Centre in October 2005, is passionate about gardening. He has told how his love of nature dates back to his childhood, when he says his next door neighbour, Ron Howard, 'taught me a lot about natural history and ornithology and plants'. "I still have some of his plants that I'm growing in my garden," he once said in an interview. | Sheffield Newspapers Ltd

Sean Bean: 11 facts about Sheffield-born star of new Liverpool gangster drama This City is Ours

Sean Bean plays a drug kingpin in glossy-but-gritty new BBC drama This City is Ours, which tells the story of the disentegration of his crime gang.

Set in Liverpool and Spain, it reveals how Ronnie (Sean Bean) and business partner Michael (James Nelson-Joyce) have been importing cocaine for years. But when a shipment goes missing their fortunes nosedive.

It is just the latest high profile role for one of Sheffield’s finest actors whose CV includes Boromir in Lord of the Rings, a prisoner in TV drama Time, Napoleonic soldier in Sharpe, hapless gangster in Ronin opposite Robert de Niro and Ned Stark in HBO fantasy epic Game of Thrones.

Sean Bean grew up on a council estate in Handsworth, Sheffield, before going on to became one of Britain’s most successful actors.

His dad Brian was a steel plater with his own business, while his mum, Rita, was a secretary.

You may also be aware he’s been married five times, has three children and lives with his wife Ashley Moore in Somerset.

And you probably know he’s a huge Sheffield United fan, has a propensity for uttering the word b****** on screen and a reputation for playing characters who meet a grisly end.

But below are some facts you may not know about the actor, from his boyhood dream to the neighbour who helped inspire one of his biggest passions in life.

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