Bean dropped out of school at age 16 and worked a variety of odd jobs before deciding to enroll in art school. Three schools later, he took an acting class at Rotherham College and found his métier, performing in such shows as "Cabaret" and "The Owl and the Pussycat". Deciding to pursue a career, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and further honed his craft. After graduating in 1983, Bean made his professional stage debut (billed as Shaun Behan) as Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet" in Berkshire, before heading north to Scotland and work with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre).

In 1984, Bean began to land roles on the small screen (e.g., the telefilm "Winter Flight") and two years later joined the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company where he acted in repertory (including playing Romeo to Niamh Cusack's Juliet). He made his feature debut in Derek Jarman's film "Caravaggio" (1986) and reunited with the director on "War Requiem" (1988). Bean had his first notable film role as an Irishman who becomes involved with shady characters in the moody, jazz-influenced "Stormy Monday" (1988), directed by Mike Figgis. He shone as Richard Harris' repressed son in "The Field" (1990) and proved an effective romantic lead in both the period drama "Clarissa" (BBC, 1991) and "Lady Chatterley" (BBC, 1992).

Although he would become established as a star with his terrific portrayal of Napoleonic-era soldier Richard Sharpe in a series of 14 TV-movies between 1993 and 1997, Bean became the actor most sought after to play villains following his believable turn as an IRA gunman in "Patriot Games" (1992). Among the more memorable figures in his rogues' gallery are the despicable Earl of Fenton in the 1994 CBS miniseries "Scarlett", Alec Trevelyan, Agent 006, in the James Bond film "GoldenEye" (1995), weapons expert Spence in "Ronin" (1998), a wife-beating ex-con in "Essex Boys" (2000) and the malevolent kidnapper-jewel thief in "Don't Say a Word" (2001).

That's not to say that the actor hasn't demonstrated a heroic or romantic side. He was appropriately dashing as Vronsky in the 1997 remake of "Anna Karenina" and garnered praise for his work as real-life British soldier Andy McNab who led a secret mission during the Persian Gulf War in the British TV drama "Bravo Two Zero" (1999). American audiences became further familiar with the handsome actor when he was featured in a series of TV commercials for Acuvue contact lenses. Bean also reached a wide audience playing the proud but temptation-weak warrior Boromir in the Peter Jackson-directed adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein's novel "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001).

After roles in the futuristic thriller "Equilibrium" (2002) and the off-kilter comedy "The Big Empty" (2003), Bean returned to epic-style filmmaking when he played the legendary Greek hero Odysseus in "Troy" (2004), the big screen adaptation of Homer's tale of the Trojan War, followed by a turn as Nicolas Cage's villainous rival in the popular if unambitious adventure film "National Treasure" (2004). Next was another villain, this time the head of a duplicitous cloning facility in the Michael Bay-directed sci-fi thriller "The Island" (2005), followed by the captain of an airline flight who refuses to believe the missing daughter of a passenger (Jodie Foster) was ever aboard in the thriller "Flightplan" (2005). Shifting gears, Bean next showed a rarely seen warmer side and a potent dose of charm in the drama "North Country" (2005), playing the protective and sympathetic husband of a female miner (Frances McDormand) whose friend (Charlize Theron) launched the first-ever sexual harassment lawsuit against a corporation.

Bean next appeared in “The Island” (2005), Michael Bay’s ham-handed rip-off of the 1970s TV movie, “Parts: The Clonus Horror” (1979). In Bay’s version, Bean played an smart but evil doctor who runs a futuristic medical facility that harvests cloned human beings for organ transplants. In “Silent Hill” (2006), a supernatural horror feature based on the popular video game, Bean played the husband of a desperate mother (Radha Mitchell) trying to find an answer for her daughter’s mysterious recurring dream that pulls her out of bed to sleepwalk. Against her husband’s objections, she takes her to a fog-shrouded ghost town inhabited by a variety of strange beings—including demons—and overcome by a living darkness that transforms everything it touches. Despite negative reviews, “Silent Hill” opened number one at the box office with over $20 million in box office dollars.