Actor Sean Bean lauded those who fought in the Second World War when commenting on his character in his epic new drama about the biggest military confrontation of the 20th century; however, he appeared to be much less enthusiastic about the wars that followed:
“We all got behind our countries to fight Hitler”, he said, as cited by the Mirror, adding:
“But there haven’t been many wars that have been worth fighting for, including the Middle East”, the Emmy and BAFTA awards winner noted, before blasting ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who notoriously dragged Britain into the war in Iraq in a bid to "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people".
“It was all based on lies. Tony Blair, in my opinion, should be held to account”, he said.
BBC 1’s new drama World on Fire, starring Bean, depicts the intertwining fates of ordinary people, for instance, a bus conductor played by Bean, as well as his family scattered across Europe during the first year of World War II – from Manchester to Warsaw, Paris, and Berlin. The sweeping drama is a detailed portrayal of the human cost of the war – the ways it affected and largely ruined their lives and loves.
“It’s not focussed on history and the leaders, the likes of Mussolini, Hitler and Churchill”, the 60-year-old actor noted, lauding writer Peter Bowker’s work as “brilliant.”
Speaking about his character, Douglas, Bean stressed that he is a pacifist who has come to conscientiously object to military standoffs, having suffered shellshock in the First World War.
“He’s one of those strong men who went off to war and came back mentally disturbed because of what they witnessed – like their mate next to them getting their head blasted off”, Sean pointed out.