CONTENTS
Title Page
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE: BOY FROM KILLARNEY… VIA HEIDELBERG
CHAPTER TWO: A FATEFUL DAY
CHAPTER THREE: HOLLYWOOD AND BUST
CHAPTER FOUR: AN ACTOR’S LIFE
CHAPTER FIVE: HOLLYWOOD VIA ANCIENT GREECE
CHAPTER SIX: A NAKED HUNGER
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE GOOD LIFE
CHAPTER EIGHT: CONFESSING TO TARANTINO
CHAPTER NINE: AND THE WINNER IS…
CHAPTER TEN: LICENSED TO THRILL?
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE ROAD TO ROCHESTER
CHAPTER TWELVE: SPANKING KEIRA
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: AN X-CELLENT MOVE
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: A SHAMEFUL AFFAIR
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: SPACED OUT
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: EASY RIDER
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SHAMELESS LOVE
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: CEREMONY SEASON
CHAPTER NINETEEN: MAN OF THE YEAR?
AFTERWORD
Plates
Copyright
As a child, Michael Fassbender believed he could fly. In fact, he was convinced that he was Superman and he still remembers his joy at being bought a Man of Steel outfit when he was six.
Such childhood beliefs and imaginings are not uncommon but few of us grow up and still play superheroes and villains. Even daydreaming Michael, growing up in the countryside of Killarney, could hardly have believed that one day he would become steel-bending X-Man Magneto. But then, his belief in himself has always been strong, despite his parents’ worries about him at school and his lack of direction. However, once he had found his way – by chance – he set about it with an enviable and unwavering determination.
His rise to stardom may seem meteoric but it only went into hyper-drive following his breakthrough movie Hunger and by that stage he had put in plenty of groundwork. Having quit drama college early after becoming disillusioned with the way they did things, he set about getting an agent and, with the impetuousness of youth, felt that he was ready to make his mark. But it very nearly cost him dearly as he missed out on the college’s auditions process and he spent years in the wilderness, scrapping for acting jobs which were few and far between. To support himself he worked behind bars in London, barely able to afford the living standards of the capital. Memories of these days are never far from his mind and, even today, he respects bartenders and is appreciative of a well-stocked and well-run bar!
Back then his goal in life was to earn a living solely as an actor. That achievement took some time – a lot longer than he had imagined – but it was an invaluable experience that gave him the time to learn his craft, make some mistakes, come to terms with them and move on, and to appreciate the good times when they finally came. It has helped to keep him grounded amid the glitter and showbiz razzmatazz of premieres, parties, awards and a fan base that continues to expand.
Hollywood royalty such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino are now among his friends. But he remains firm to his roots and strives to return home to see his family and friends in Killarney at least three times a year. He remains very close to his parents and has enjoyed the opportunity of being able to take them to showbiz premieres and awards gatherings. And they are very proud of their famous son as well as their academic daughter.
Michael has mixed with some of the biggest names in the business. He’s been acclaimed at glitzy awards ceremonies for his acting, shared a drink in Venice with Tarantino, joked with Brad Pitt and danced with Keira Knightley. But one of the most enjoyable things he has done in his life – since he became a star – was something he had dreamed about as a teenager. Michael and his father Josef had talked back then about one day taking a road trip through Europe on motorbikes. At the time he had neither a bike nor a licence but, as he has a habit of doing, he eventually made the dream come true. They had the most marvellous time and it was a life-enhancing experience that neither of them will ever forget.
Once he’d got his break with Hunger, Michael made a string of films at a hectic rate, forcing himself into public consciousness. Another dream of his had been to find a director with whom he could bond and work with on a regular basis and he found that in Londoner Steve McQueen, who first directed him in Hunger and then in Shame – both of which received huge acclaim. Neither movie was easy, to say the least. To play Bobby Sands in Hunger he went on a strict diet to lose over two stone and in Shame he had to undergo full-frontal nudity and sex scenes to play a sex addict.
Michael has a chameleon-like ability to lose himself and take on the personas of the various roles he is playing. He might be a star but there is an everyman quality to him that allows audiences to forget the actor and really believe and engage in whichever character he is playing. As Steve McQueen put it, ‘Apart from being big and strong and bold, there is a fragility to Michael, and certain things are revealed through him that we can see in ourselves, and that’s very rare. He has a heart. You’re never disconnected from him.’
Michael is also always challenging himself. While some stars are concerned about their image and in taking on the right roles to fit their public persona, Michael firmly rejects such behaviour. If the script and character interest and intrigue him, he will take it on. Nothing else matters. Along the way, he has played a wife-beater, a serial murderer with a foot fetish, a devil, a psychotic killer, a paedophile and an assassin – and he has spanked Keira Knightley!
Despite having joined the A-list, Michael still feels an outsider in Hollywood but that has as much to do with his upbringing as anything. A curious mix of Irish and German, his name stood out at school when the family moved from Germany to Killarney when he was two. At home Adele insisted that he speak German at the dinner table so that he would be bilingual and there is certainly something of a dual personality about him that fits the stereotypes from both countries – a steely Germanic discipline on the one hand and a cheerful, rousing partygoer on the other. ‘I don’t feel hugely nationalistic, whether it be Irish or German or anything,’ he says. ‘So I guess what my background gave me is the idea that the world is so` small that borders seem a bit absurd.’
It’s all part of the mix in Michael’s everyman quality that makes him so interesting. His belief and confidence in himself overlap with an innate shyness. He also has a nice modesty about him but also a genuine fondness for people. He happily signs autographs for fans, poses for their pictures and chats with them whenever he is approached and it’s all done with his trademark wide grin. It’s the smile that makes many women go weak at the knees. And then there’s the piercing blue eyes, the soft Irish accent, the toned physique. But he’s no pretty boy – he’s very much a man’s man with rugged good looks. Red-blooded males see him as a down-to-earth type who’s one of the lads – someone who you could have a drink with, share a laugh or play sports with.
Michael has brought that same naturalistic quality to his acting. He’s been feted as the next Brando, the next Pacino, the next Daniel Day-Lewis – all of whom were teenage heroes of his. Every role he takes on is given a hundred per cent. His preparation is intense and has often astounded his fellow actors and directors. He strives to really get under the skin of his characters, to play them for real. Even a comic-book character such as Magneto in The X-Men: First Class is treated in the same way. Michael gave the character gravitas and filled him with conflicting emotions and an inner turmoil that had audiences caring about him. He wasn’t simply just good or bad.