Introduction
Born in Ireland on the 7th of January 1988, Robert Sheehan is a well-known actor in the industry. His roles as Nathan Young in Misfits, Darren Treacy in Love/Hate, and Klaus Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy are some of the most well-known of his career. In addition, he has made appearances in movies like “Mortal Engines” and “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” playing characters like “Tom Natsworthy” and “Simon Lewis,” respectively, in both of those films.
In addition to receiving a nomination for the British Academy Television Award, Sheehan has been considered for a number of awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards. In the year 2020, The Irish Times compiled a list of the greatest film actors to come out of Ireland, and he was placed at number 41 on that list.
Early Life of Robert Sheehan
Sheehan was born in the town of Portlaoise, which is located in County Laois. He is the third and final child to be born to Maria and Joe Sheehan, who both worked for the Garda. He is the youngest of the three.
He joked that he was like “Footloose with spoons” because he played the banjo, the bodhrán, and the spoons while he was in school. He also took part in the Fleadh Cheoil competition.
Sheehan received his education at Saint Paul’s school located in Portlaoise. He attended the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology to study film and television because he was uncertain about whether or not acting would be a viable career choice. Because of filming commitments for Summer of the Flying Saucer, he was absent from class for several months. As a result, he did not perform well on his first-year exams and chose not to retake them.
Robert Sheehan as Nathan Young in Misfits
Nathan Young was an original member of the gang known as the Misfits. Nathan was born a clown and has an irritating and flippant attitude towards life and other people. After the storm, he gained the power of immortality, which he discovered several months later when he was temporarily killed while facing the brainwashed Virtue organization. Nathan is a born clown. After falling in love with single mother Marnie, he sold his immortality to Seth to purchase the power of Magic. He then used this power to try to win millions of dollars at a casino in Las Vegas; however, this only resulted in his being incarcerated in a prison in the United States.
Robert Sheehan in Misfits Series 1
Nathan quickly demonstrated to his fellow probationers that he was going to be a nuisance for the duration of his community service by picking on them at every turn, with a particular focus on Simon. Nathan was dismayed to find that he had not changed after the gang discovered their powers as a result of the Storm. He is seen several times attempting to determine what his power might be.
His insensitivity caused his mother to kick him out and choose her boyfriend Jeremy over him. Nathan moved into the Community Center. During his community service, Nathan found Jeremy naked and acting like an animal in the storm. He used this to defame Jeremy but was surprised to find that his mother already knew about his condition and accepted him. Nathan was slapped by his mother for an insensitive remark and fled to Ruth’s flat, an attractive young woman he met at the community center. Nathan was disgusted by Ruth’s elderly appearance during sex. Ruth told him the storm rejuvenated her and that her power was fading. Nathan left abruptly, and Ruth died the next day. Nathan realized his mistakes after Ruth’s lonely death. Nathan reconciled with his mother and decided not to return home, fearing she would die alone.
The other people Nathan is performing community service with have a generally negative attitude toward him because they find his personality to be extremely annoying. Despite this, he can develop a friendly relationship with Kelly, with the expectation that this would eventually lead to a sexual encounter; however, Kelly ultimately decides against this, much to Nathan’s dismay. In addition to this, he singles out Simon as a target and refers to him as “Barry” on multiple occasions given that he is unable to recall Simon’s actual name.
In the seventh episode, Nathan meets Marnie, a single mother who has an attitude not dissimilar to his own. The two begin a sexual relationship, but very quickly Nathan becomes increasingly excited about the prospect of being a father to her child (she is unaware of who the child’s biological father is). In the end, he and the other Misfits are the ones who assist her in giving birth.
After that, in a scene that is eerily reminiscent of the birth of Jesus, Marnie and the Misfits begin to sing “Little Donkey” while they have an emotionally moving exchange close to the manger. This moment is somewhat spoiled when Marnie begins to panic because she thinks she is going to go into labor again and Nathan pulls out what he claims to be an “alien baby” and stomps all over it, spraying everyone with blood. This moment is slightly ruined. It was discovered to be the afterbirth, to which he responded by wishing everyone a “Merry Christmas one and all!” After some time has passed, Nathan travels to Las Vegas with Marnie and her newborn son, whom he names Nathan Jr. After attempting to defraud a casino, he is taken into custody and is required to remain in Vegas. He uses his only phone call to call Simon, but when Simon answers the phone, Rudy asks who is calling and then hangs up on Nathan because he is confused. The last time anyone saw Nathan, he was being taken away by the police while yelling, “Save me, Barry!”
Powers of Robert Sheehan as Nathan Young in Misfits
1. Immortality
Nathan’s power, like the powers possessed by the other misfits, is a reflection of some aspect of his personality. Nathan’s apparent invulnerability to insults takes the form of immortality; he is incapable of passing away in any way. After he has reached the point of no return, he can regenerate from any injuries, frequently returning to life almost instantly. When he suffers injuries that do not threaten his life, he heals at the normal human rate; however, those wounds will be quickly healed the next time he passes away. Because he has died on several occasions but has always been able to emerge from those experiences unscathed, this ability appears to be subconscious. After being shot, stabbed, and nearly beaten to death, he has made a full recovery. His flesh will never rot, and he will never truly become an old man. As a direct consequence of this, he will never grow old. Nathan’s powers do not become apparent until after he has been killed after falling from a rooftop and being impaled. This is in contrast to the other members of the Misfits, who discover their abilities the day after the storm. After he passes away, he comes to his funeral and discovers that he is buried alive inside his coffin with nothing but the iPod that Kelly had placed next to him at the service.
Kelly realizes that Nathan is still alive when she overhears him thinking (while he is masturbating) while she is standing by his grave. Shortly after his burial, the group receives a message from ‘Superhoodie’ telling them to visit Nathan’s grave. The group eventually unearths him, and although Nathan is motionless at first and gives the impression that he is not moving, he eventually gets to his feet and proclaims that he is immortal.
However, the power he possesses is alluded to in Episode Four. In this episode, Curtis inadvertently creates an alternate timeline in which Tony is responsible for the deaths of the misfits, except Nathan, who was found by paramedics in a ‘half dead’ state. The fact that his wounds are not completely healed suggests that he did not pass away (and therefore start the process of regenerating) before being rescued from his precarious situation.
His mother passed out (and, if Nathan is to be believed, hurt her face badly) after he arrived at her door unannounced, and his father was enraged after Nathan claimed that his death had just been an insurance scam. Nathan’s resurrection did not go over well with his family.
2. Mediumship
After the accident that was brought on by Lily’s power being inverted, it was assumed that she had passed away, while Jamie appeared to be fine. Nathan follows Jamie’s advice and visits their father to make amends; however, when he does so, he discovers that Jamie is merely an apparition because he passed away along with Lily. Additionally, he sees Ollie after he has passed away and expresses regret over the fact that Ollie was shot. In episode two of season two, Nathan has a vision of Kelly’s ghost as well.
3. Magic
Nathan, Marnie, and Nathan Jr. went to Las Vegas with him after he had gained his new abilities. He was able to conjure a red tulip for Marnie, but he ultimately wound up in jail because he created a die with the number seven printed on it. (as evidenced by his shock when he learns that rolling a seven on a die is impossible and when he is pursued, he was unaware that a seven could not be rolled on a die).
The Appearance of Robert Sheehan as Nathan Young in Misfits
The majority of Nathan’s clothes are of a dark hue and are of a more casual style. One item of clothing that stands out on him is a black Harrington jacket, which he typically wears over a few different graphic t-shirts. His typical attire consists of straightforward t-shirts in burgundy, teal, or gray and skinny jeans in either black or denim. Converse shoes in black and grey are his go-to footwear, and he almost always has a metal necklace draped around his neck. On occasion, he will wear a dark hoodie or an open shirt over a t-shirt. Other times, he will wear an open shirt over a t-shirt. Throughout the series, we see him wearing a variety of sweaters, including jumpers and cardigans.
Nathan’s jumpsuit for community service, like the jumpsuits worn by the others, has the words “COMMUNITY PAYBACK” printed on the back. However, Nathan has crossed out the word “PAY” and written “BLOW” in its place.
Nathan has several tattoos, including two straightforward black star outlines on the inside and outside of each of his wrists, three stars of a similar style on his hip, a crest pattern of some sort under each of his arms, and a swallow on his back.
Nathan cut his naturally curly hair shorter and grew a goatee while he was in Vegas.
Why Did Robert Sheehan Leave Misfits as Nathan Young?
On August 17, 2009, Digital Spy announced that casting had begun for the role. Iwan Rheon, another member of the cast, divulged the information that the person who created the character, Overman, conferred with the cast about how to write their parts, and then began writing for them as actors. At the Kapow convention in London on 10 April 2011, Misfit’s executive producer Petra Fried revealed that Robert Sheehan had decided to leave the show. His departure was addressed in an online spinoff that first aired on 15 September 2011, and it was Petra Fried who broke the news. Vegas Baby! was the name of the spinoff, and Nathan’s character was written out.
On his decision to leave Sheehan said “It’s nice that the show’s success but it doesn’t mean complete blind and unadmonished loyalty – ‘If something is very successful you should stick to it like a barnacle!’ That’s definitely not my thinking. I think I’ve made the right decision, yeah”. On a possible return, Sheehan said “There’s no point in saying never. It holds a very fond little place in my heart. No, it’s been a great big part of my life and there’s no point in turning your back on something completely. I’m not doing that, I would never say never”.
Conclusion
From superpowers to nice stories, Misfits has tackled the obscure and occasionally effing ridiculous since its debut. With identically flawless execution, Nathan’s departure could be made equally enjoyable and even essential. However, both the character and Robert Sheehan’s performance will be truly missed.