Michael Sheen has spoken of the 'unforgettable' moment when he looked Gareth Bale in the eye whilst giving a stirring World Cup speech to the Wales team.
The Hollywood star was invited into the Welsh camp's inner circle to deliver a tub-thumping message after his hypothetical pre-match Wales v England team talk on A League of Their Own went viral.
The original rousing speech, urging Wales to victory over the old enemy in Qatar, was only seen in the TV studio, but it became an internet sensation after a member of the audience put it on social media.
Read more: Don't Take Me Home: Get the latest Wales football team news sent straight to you
The actor subsequently delivered an even more rousing talk to the team in person during their recent UEFA Nations League get-together.
He said in the Mirror : "It went absolutely crazy after League of Their Own. So I was invited to go and meet the Welsh squad and have a few words with them.
"It was amazing for me, unbelievable. It is one thing to prepare a speech for a show, it is quite another to meet the team and look Gareth Bale and Rob Page in the eye as you are doing it.
"If there is anything which I have said which is going to give them inspiration, a bit of a lift, then that is amazing."
Sheen famously played legendary manager Brian Clough in the 2009 hit The Damned United.
In his call to action to Bale and his team he told them every single person in Wales 'is standing there with you. One nation, singing with one voice, a song of hope, a song of courage. A victory song that floats through the valleys like a red mist, rolls over the mountain tops like crimson thunder.'
As Sheen's speech finished there was a brief moment of stunned silence around a large conference suite at the team's Vale of Glamorgan training HQ, before rapturous applause broke out from the players.
Get your brilliant 48-page Wales at the World Cup preview special
Sheen was then embraced by Bale, who presented him with a personalised, commemorative bottle, emblazoned with the words 'Yma o Hyd', before the squad signed his shirt.
Wales head out to Qatar in the middle of the month to kick off their first World Cup campaign since 1958. Page's men first meet USA in Group B, then tangle with Iran before locking horns with Gareth Southgate's England in the final match.
READ NEXT:
Michael Sheen's Wales v England World Cup speech on A League of Their Own gives viewers goosebumps
Michael Sheen to star in two-part Wagatha Christie docu-drama on Channel 4
Wales to play Croatia and Turkey as draw for Euro 2024 qualifying is revealed
