Who is Robert Sheehan? The Misfits star has a new lead role in Netflix's The Umbrella Academy

Following the release of Queer Eye season three yesterday and Tidying Up with Marie Kondo in January, Netflix’s original content has been off to a solid start in 2019. Another recent show that has been attracting hype is The Umbrella Academy, a science fiction show based on the comic books of the same name by My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way.

Set on the brink of the apocalypse, it sees a dysfunctional superheroic family come together in the wake of their father’s death to save the world. With the likes of Ellen Page and Mary J. Blige playing lead roles, there’s one familiar face you may recognise if you grew up watching Misfits on Channel 4.

Robert Sheehan, who played Nathan Young on the British show, has returned to television for another science fiction role and it’s great to have him back in the genre. From his character on The Umbrella Academy to why he left Misfits at the height of its fame, here’s everything to know about Robert Sheehan below.

Who is Robert Sheehan?

Robert Sheehan is an Irish actor currently starring on Netflix’s show The Umbrella Academy, on which he plays a superpowered character called Klaus Hargreeves. In previous years, he has also starred in feature films and shows including Mortal Engines, Love/Hate and Fortitude. Within the UK however, he is perhaps best known for his role as the arrogant Nathan Young in the sci-fi television show Misfits.

How old is Robert Sheehan?

Robert is currently 31 years old. His birthday is on January 7 and he was born in 1988.

Does Robert Sheehan have Instagram?

He does and he goes by the handle @rozzymikes. However he doesn’t post very often and only has just 25 posts on the platform at the moment, which include behind the scenes moments with his Umbrella Academy castmates and various outfit photos.

Is Robert Sheehan Irish?

Robert Sheehan is Irish and is from Portlaoise. In recent years however, his work on the Netflix series and feature film Mortal Engines has kept him away from his home country. He revealed that he has in the past struggled with homesickness.

He said to the Irish Independent, “I do tend to start yearning for [Ireland] if I am away for too long.”

He also proved just how Irish he was in a quick video with Netflix titled The Great Debate: Irish Edition. He was asked to make some very difficult decisions including who the greatest Irish person is ("Richard Harris the actor, the greatest storyteller that ever lived"), whether he preferred Guinness or Murphy's Stout ("Guinness") and even took the time out to tell off the team who put the teleprompter together for spelling Lyons tea wrong, lovingly calling them "a bunch of British morons".

Netflix issued an apology in the video for the typo, which read, "An English person did write [the questions] up and that is our bad. Sorry Robert, sorry Ireland."

More controversially however, he was asked which city he preferred - Dublin or Cork. He said, "I'm going to elicit a few screeches now from home. I think Cork. Cork, that's right - screw you Dublin. Cork, that's the real epicenter of Irishness, down there - not ye Dubs."

His comments were so controversial that the Irish Examiner wound up writing a piece titled Robert Sheehan has only gone and made half the country unhappy.

Who did Robert Sheehan play in Misfits?

Robert played a character called Nathan Young, an overly cocky juvenile delinquent who is forced to do community service. While there, Nathan winds up meeting a number of fellow teen outcasts who are granted superpowers after being struck by lightning. He was one of the main characters and while he frequently got under the skin of his fellow young offenders, his snarky wit made him a fast favourite on the Channel 4 show.

Sheehan left the show after just two seasons in 2011. He told Digital Spy about departing early, “I left Misfits to go off and do other stuff, completely unspecific. I just left because a rolling stone gathers no moss, as they say, and I just wanted to p*ss off and do other things, you know? It’s nice that the show’s successful but it doesn’t mean complete blind and unadmonished loyalty.”

What is The Umbrella Academy about and when does it air?

Robert plays a character called Klaus Hargreeves, who was assigned the name Number Four when he joined the Umbrella Academy. Like Robert’s Misfits character Nathan, Klaus has a knack for irritating those closest to him with his acerbic wit and cavalier attitude, as well as his drug addiction, which has driven away those closest to him.

He also has the power to communicate with the dead and is frequently visited by the ghost of his brother Ben Hargreeves, who tries in vain to keep him overcome his addiction and appeals to his conscience.