Michael Sheen says more than $ 7 million in debt of strangers

Actor Michael Sheen of “Twilight” and “The Queen” became a hero in Port Talbot, in the south of Wales. He bought and paid off the debts of 900 residents of his hometown, which totaled 1 million pounds, about $ 7.5 million. Sheen, who paid about $ 745,000, explained the reason for the initiative: “I wanted to expose the system’s injustice.”

In the documentary “Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway” (secret donation of 1 million pounds of Michael Sheen, which debuted on Monday (10) on Channel 4, from British TV, the actor shows how the debt buying scheme works and how people end up being harmed in these transactions.

According to Sheen, 56, companies that specialize in debt purchase acquire customers with banks at a much lower amount and then press them to make the payment for a larger amount. “People come into debt spirals and when they are sunk, it is very difficult to get out of them,” explains the actor, who calls this process of financial exploitation. “Vulnerable individuals from lower social layers are the most affected.”

Sheen, who acted until last year in Prime Video’s “Good Omens” series, showed that he worked over two years to buy debt packages at a lower price than originally charged. “I want to force a change in the system,” he explained. In addition to direct action to help the poorer population, Sheen has also been dedicated to pressuring the British government for credit sector regulation and initiatives to curb abusive practices.