Michael Fassbender Read online

  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

  INTRODUCTION

  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.

  Variety has always been the spice of life for Michael. A string of work in British TV dramas eventually led to Hunger and he has not stopped taking risks since. ‘He’s the real deal,’ says Gary Oldman.

  Michael has the ability to play ind
ependent movies one moment and studio blockbusters the next. And he doesn’t always need to be the star. Often he takes subsidiary roles that interest him. In Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, he only made a relatively brief appearance with its star Gina Carano but it was the most memorable scene in the movie. Similarly in Quentin Tarantino’s war movie, Inglourious Basterds, he had little screen time but played the part of British officer Archie Hicox to perfection, culminating in an unforgettable Mexican stand-off with Nazi officer Major Hellstrom in a French bistro, where both men are holding pistols under the table aimed at each other’s crotches.

  Michael has appreciated the kindness and encouragement that he has received from some of the biggest names in Hollywood and, in turn, he has tried to help and encourage others trying to make it in the business. Straight after filming the big-budget Inglourious Basterds, Michael returned to London to film a short called Man on a Motorcycle, made on a shoestring by former musician and video-maker John Maclean, who was making his film debut. Michael had admired his videos and offered to appear in any film he made. John hurriedly wrote one and, true to his word, Michael fitted it into his hectic schedule of back-to-back movies.

  From a sexual predator amid the council homes of Essex in the low-budget Fish Tank to the romantic Rochester in Jane Eyre; from a muscular Roman soldier in Centurion to a humanoid in the space fantasy Prometheus; from a sex addict in Shame to sex therapist in A Dangerous Method – there seems to be nothing Michael is not capable of doing. In the main he has shown a knack for choosing excellent roles. No one gets it right every time but, even in those films that have failed to set the world alight, he has usually been praised for his own performance. Along the way he has collected numerous Best Actor awards from around the world – many for his portrayal of Brandon in the uncompromising Shame. His full-frontal nudity in this movie made him the butt of much good-natured ribbing from family and friends in Ireland to Hollywood stars George Clooney and Charlize Theron.

  The exciting thing is that Michael is still a young man and this is just the beginning. As he says, he likes to keep people guessing about what he will do next. ‘I’ve been going on my gut pretty much from the beginning. I’m not always going to get it right but risk interests me. There is some embarrassing element to everything I do in life. I used to beat myself up a lot but, if you’re really going to learn and expand, you’re going to be open to doing things that perhaps don’t work out the way you envisaged. I’m not going to hamper myself with fear.’ But he takes every day as it comes, enjoying the moment and appreciating his good fortune, and doesn’t fret about what he should or should not be doing. ‘I don’t say, ‘I have to play the Dane [Hamlet] one day,’ he says. ‘I don’t really think like that. I just wait and see what comes up and I’m always open to it. If I react to the script, I’m up for anything.’

  It was Michael’s mother, Adele – a big fan of American cinema from the 1970s – who instilled in him his love for movies and first brought to his attention the talent of the character actor John Cazale who played, among others, Fredo Corleone in The Godfather. Cazale has remained one of Michael’s heroes, along with the likes of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Robert Mitchum, Montgomery Clift, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Penn and Paddy Considine.

  Another man he calls one of his heroes is Steve McQueen and he will remain forever grateful to the director for the ‘lucky break’ that turned Michael from a jobbing actor into an international name and set him on the course to stardom. ‘Steve is family to me now,’ he said. ‘We’re so close on and off set. He changed my life, giving me the opportunity in Hunger. We were heading into a recession and there were fewer roles for fewer actors. For me, a thirty-year-old unknown, to get a leading role, and somebody willing to take a risk – that was a big deal, which allowed me to show potential within the craft. I’m forever indebted.’

  CHAPTER ONE

  BOY FROM KILLARNEY… VIA HEIDELBERG

  Michael Fassbender stood out from the crowd while he was still at school but this had nothing to do with star appeal or talent. It was because, in a classroom full of O’Sullivans, Kellys, Murphys and O’Connells, his unusual surname at first raised eyebrows among teachers and gave way to some gentle mickey-taking from fellow pupils. His name has continued to intrigue ever since, from casting directors to interviewers. A German Irishman? An interesting mix. ‘I suppose the German side wants to keep everything in control and the Irish side wants to wreak havoc,’ he was later to joke. But he wasn’t being just frivolous with this remark because it does help to explain the two contrasting sides to his character: Michael the focused, methodical, confident actor, and Michael the easy-going, free-wheelin’ charmer.

  He was born in the city of Heidelberg in south-west Germany to a German father, Josef, and an Irish mother, Adele. Heidelberg is a city where a pretty Old Town of cafes, shops and restaurants co-exists with a bustling modern business centre and technology park, with an emphasis on science and research. Nestled in the hills of the Odenwald along the banks of the Neckar river, it boasts a castle and the oldest university in Germany. Students, businessmen, scientists and tourists are all attracted to the city, which has something to offer to all of them.

  Josef Fassbender was a successful, hardworking local chef who had worked in various hotels in Germany, Spain and England, including London’s famous Savoy. It was in a London nightclub that he met Adele, who had grown up in Country Antrim, Northern Ireland. They began going on dates together and, as their romance blossomed, they eventually married and she moved with him to Heidelberg, where he continued to work as a chef. But Adele missed Ireland and after starting a family she persuaded Josef of the benefits of bringing up their children in the countryside, suggesting that southern Ireland would be ideal and that he could get plenty of work there. So it was that in 1979 they moved to Dromin, Fossa, in Killarney, County Kerry, on the south-west coast of Ireland, with their two children, Catherine and two-year-old toddler Michael.

  Fossa is located on the shores of Lough Léin, in the shade of the McGillycuddy Reeks four miles west of Killarney town. The talented Josef became a chef in Killarney’s luxurious German-owned Hotel Europe and later Head Chef at the elegant Hotel Dunloe Castle. Although Adele came from Larne, Country Antrim, her family, generations back, were from the south and family lore has it that she is the great great-niece of the Irish revolutionary hero Michael Collins. As Michael was later to say, ‘We’re only going by my grandfather’s word but I believe it.’

  Michael’s maternal great-grandfather was disowned by the family after he joined the Royal Irish Constabulary and moved to the North. He returned years later hoping to be reconciled with his family but they still wanted nothing to do with him.

  With Adele’s relatives still living in Northern Ireland, the family would often visit during summer holidays and at Christmas, and Michael remembers how very different things were once they had crossed the border. British army patrols checked cars going in and out during The Troubles and they would have to get out of their car while soldiers searched through the seats and boot for possible guns, ammunition or bomb-making materials.

  In the early years in Fossa, when pre-school Michael was four and five years old, he felt a little lonely as all the other boys in his immediate neighbourhood seemed to be three or four years older than he was, so he spent a lot of time on his own and would retreat into a world of his own imaginings.

  Adele, who spoke fluent German, insisted they talk it at the dinner table, which Michael found embarrassing as he got older, but it taught him the language and was to be instrumental in launching him to stardom when he auditioned for Quentin Tarantino. But even the daydreaming young Michael never fantasised that he would become a Hollywood star. His thoughts were firmly set on becoming a superhero!

  It was when this rather insular, shy young boy started attending the local primary school, a short walk from his home, that he came out of his shell and learned to integrate with children of his own age. The pri
ncipal of Fossa National School was the former Kerry Gaelic footballer, Tom Long. The 149 boy and girl pupils dressed smartly in a uniform of burgundy jumper, cream shirt, grey trousers/skirts and striped ties. To this day, Michael has many happy memories of his time there. ‘The Irish education system is really top notch,’ he was later to say. ‘At primary school I learned about the battle of Thermopylae and 300 Spartans when I was six or seven years old. There was a real love of learning language and poetry, and we were taught history and geography. It was very well rounded.’

  The Battle of Thermopylae took place in 480 BC in ancient Greece, when King Leonidas of Sparta and 1,400 men (700 Thespians, 400 Thebans and the King’s bodyguard of 300 Spartans) bravely defended the pass of Thermopylae to the death against a much greater force of invading Persians. This knowledge was to come in useful many years later when he found himself portraying a Spartan warrior caught up in the famous conflict in the movie 300.

  Despite his grounded education, Michael still had his head in the clouds and when on his own he enjoyed daydreaming and fantasising of heroic adventures far from Killarney. Such was the strength of his imagination that when he was six years old he was convinced that he was a young Superman. At night in bed he would hear a buzzing in his ear and thought it was Kryptonite calling him to the garage – although he wasn’t sufficiently fearless to get up to investigate! Michael was delighted when his parents bought him a Superman outfit. Now there was no stopping him. They could hardly get him to take it off and had to put up with him leaping and jumping heroically around the house. And all this really made his flying take off – or so he thought.

  ‘I would practise leaping off the couch and when my sister came in I’d say, “Look, look, I’ve flown a little further!”’ he remembers. ‘I wanted to take it [the outfit] to the swimming pool so I could practise my flying but my parents wouldn’t let me.’ And what he couldn’t do for real he recreated in the finest traditions of stage and cinema trickery. ‘I used to play this game with my cousin where he would dress up in civilian clothes – like Clark Kent – and he would stand by the side of the road and when a car came he would run behind a bush and I would come out from the bush dressed as Superman.’