Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender (born 2.4.1977)

Michael Fassbender is an Irish / German actor, known primarily for his roles in Inglourious Basterds and Shame.

Michael Fassbender: Childhood

Michael Fassbender was born in Heidelberg, West Germany, to Adele and Josef. His father is German and his mother is Irish. His parents moved to Killarney, County Kerry, in Ireland when he was two. There, they ran a restaurant, West End House, where his father worked as a chef.

After school, Fassbender attended the Drama Centre in North London. Now, he splits his time between working and living in London and Los Angeles.

Michael Fassbender: Acting Career

Michael Fassbender's major acting break came when he landed the role of Burton 'Pat' Christenson in the award-winning series Band of Brothers. The series was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and among the actors in the cast, were James McAvoy, Kirk Acevedo and Dale Dye.

Fassbender went on to play the role of Azazeal in BBC America's Hex, with Laura Pyper and Christina Cole. He also appeared in a music video for the British indie rock band The Cooper Temple Clause. Turning his hand to radio work, Fassbender also appeared in a 10 part radio series of Dracula on BBC Northern Ireland.

2006 saw Michael raise his profile in the United States, when he appeared in 300. The film, directed by Zack Snyder, starred Gerard Butler and Dominic West.

In 2007, Michael Fassbender appeared in a film entitled Angel (in the UK, it was called The Real Life of Angel Deverell) about a young British writer, played by Romola Garai. It was based on a novel by Elizabeth Taylor and premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The following year, Michael Fassbender starred in Steve McQueen's Hunger. In preparation for his role (he played a Provisional Irish Republic Army prisoner, Bobby Sands), Fassbender was required to go on an extreme diet that restricted him to 600 calories a day. His performance was highly revered amongst film critics and led to further opportunities for him in the film industry.

Following the success of Hunger, Fassbender appeared in Inglourious Basterds and Fish Tank. The former was directed by Quentin Tarantino and starred Brad Pitt and Eli Roth. The latter was a British film, directed by Andrea Arnold and starred an unknown actress, Katie Jarvis. In 2009, he also appeared in the horror film Blood Creek, with Dominic Purcell.

In the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre, Michael Fassbender played the role of Edward Rochester, along with Mia Wasikowska in the title role. He then landed another role in a Hollywood blockbuster, with X Men: First Class, a prequel to X men, set in 1962. It saw him share screen time with James McAvoy once more.

In the same year that X Men: First Class was released, Michael Fassbender also appeared in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method (in which he played the role of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung) and was reunited with Steve McQueen in Shame. Shame premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Fassbender won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. In 2012, his performance in Shame saw him nominated for a Golden Globe but he lost out to George Clooney. Later in 2012, Fassbender appeared in Prometheus, a film directed by Ridley Scott. The film co-stars Noomi Rapace and Fassbender plays and android named David.