Adam Sherwin 
March 6 2009 12:00AM 

Is there more to Sean Bean than swashbuckling heroes and Hollywood villains? We are about to find out as the Yorkshire actor faces a career crossroads. Sharpe, the action series set in the Napoleonic War era, which has kept Bean in breeches for 15 years, is in peril as ITV slashes its period drama budget. 

Bean, 49, believes there is life in the old warrior yet, but he admits the exotic filming locales have taken a toll on a turbulent home life, which has produced four marriages and three children. He regrets newspaper reports of domestic disturbances with his fourth wife Georgina Sutcliffe, the actress. The Sheffield-born star has had big-screen roles in James Bond and The Lord of the Rings. Now an acclaimed performance as a corrupt property developer in the Channel 4 drama series Red Riding, which began last night, suggests he can still handle meaty roles without a rifle.