Michael Fassbender: 10 Facts You Need To Know About The Oscar-Nominated Star


Michael Fassbender has risen to fame quickly and now the incredible actor is up for an Oscar for the second time. His first nomination was for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 12 Years a Slave. This year, he is nominated for Best Actor for his role as the tech guru himself in Steve Jobs.

There are a number of interesting facts about Michael Fassbender that few fans know.

1. GamesRadar reports that Michael Fassbender is half Irish and half German and the Irish accent fans hear is genuine. In the past, Fassbender has joked about his two halves.

“I suppose the German side wants to keep everything in control, and the Irish side wants to wreak havoc.”

2. Michael Fassbender’s name is actually the German word for cooper, which is the profession of binding or repairing barrels. Still, Fassbender has a good sense of humor about his name.

“You can imagine the combinations you can make with a word like ‘Fassbender.'”

3. Speaking of guitars, Michael Fassbender’s big dream was not to be an actor. Instead, he wanted to be a guitarist and play in a band.

“I wanted to be a lead guitarist. But I wasn’t good enough. And it’s always hard to find a drummer, especially in small towns. Or a bass player. So it was just me and this other guy Mike – the two Mikes – and we tried to put on a gig one time in this pub at lunchtime, playing Metallica. It didn’t go off too well.”

Even though Fassbender didn’t get to become a guitarist, he did get to be in The Cooper Temple Clause video “Blind Pilots.”

4. Thanks to his grandfather, Michael Fassbender has a passion for Formula 1 car racing.

“I did go to Monaco to the Grand Prix recently and because of the position I’m in, I was allowed to stand beside Michael Schumacher in his car on the grid. That was pretty amazing and something of a childhood dream. I’ve been a fan of motor racing for 20 years.”

He even narrated a documentary about Schumacher.

5. Michael Fassbender based his android character, David, in the movie Prometheus on David Bowie.

“We took inspiration from David Bowie and some of his looks as well. I liked the idea of having a feminine quality to him for sure.”

6. For his role in Hunger, Michael Fassbender lost an astonishing amount of weight, while medically supervised.

“I lost about 14 kilos and weighed 59 kilos by the end. It was the only way we could do it and make it convincing. We live in this society where nowadays if I want something, I take it, I eat it – it’s so easy and readily available. When you take all that away, you actually become more appreciative of the things around you. I don’t want to do it again, but there is a level where it humbles you in a good way.”

7. Boomsbeat reports that despite his fame and fortune, Michael Fassbender still lives in the same down-to-earth flat in Hackney, East London, that he bought as a struggling actor in his late 20s.
8. Hello! reports that Michael Fassbender never saw himself as the Shakespeare type, even back when he studied Macbeth in secondary school.

“I’m not the type to say, ‘I always wanted to play the Dane.’ I think every actor should do it once. And the opportunity to have a go is a great privilege.”

9. Michael Fassbender absolutely loves Pharrell.

“[Pharrell] is amazing. He’s the coolest man on the planet, for sure. No doubt.”

10. Michael Fassbender doesn’t think he is very good looking. Seriously?

“I’ve never really thought of myself as good-looking. I think of myself as, you know, alright. I used to have bad acne as a teenager, so all of this is a bonus now.”

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images]

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