Michael Sheen used his own wealth to help vulnerable individuals in his hometown of Port Talbot in Wales, which is severely affected by unemployment since the local steelworks recently closed down.
The actor, best known for playing Tony Blair in the films "The Queen" and "Frost/Nixon", wants to shed light on how financial institutions sell uncertain debts to aggressive debt collection agencies, which then chase the debtors, while they themselves write down the value of the debts.
The story is told in the documentary series "Michael Sheen's secret million pound giveaway" which starts broadcasting this week on British Channel 4.
Sheen was able to start a company and, in complete secrecy, buy up the debts of 900 people, which initially totaled £1 million, for £100,000. The entire project and documentary series took two years to complete.
Now the individuals are debt-free, but Sheen does not know who they are.
I had no idea who they were and I still don't know who they are, he says to BBC.
Sheen got the idea after meeting a woman at a café, who told him about how many desperate steelworkers had come in recently.
It was like a punch in the gut. I started thinking about what I could do to help, he says.
