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Michael Fassbender at the premiere of Shame, Toronto Film Festival 2011. Image by Gabbo T from

Top 10 Sensational Facts about Michael Fassbender

Actor Michael Fassbender was born in Heilberg, Germany, to an Irish mother and a German father. The family moved to Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland when Fassbender was two years old. He attended St. Brendan’s College in Killarney, where his parents ran the West End House restaurant.

His parents chose Killarney because they wanted their children to grow up in the countryside, in contrast to the industrial backdrop of their previous German residence.

The German-Irish is an actor and racing driver. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics’ Choice Movie Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and three Golden Globe Awards

Fassbender was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy at the church his family attended. He and his sister spent the summer holidays in Germany.

He decided that he wanted to be an actor at age 17 when he was cast in a play. At 19, he left home to study at the Drama Centre London. In 1999, he dropped out of the Drama Centre and toured with the Oxford Stage Company to perform the play Three Sisters.

Here are 10 sensational facts about Michael Fassbender.

1. Fassbender Started out Acting in Theatre

Fassbender and Lupita Nyongo Image by aphrodite-in-nyc from

After attending a drama and comedy class run by Donie Courtney, Michael started acting when he was 16.  Courtney eventually offered Michael roles with his theatre group, Bricriu.  Subsequently, Michael attended the Drama Centre of London, training in the theatre and acting arts, but left before he finished his education

At the age of 17, Michael produced, directed and performed in a stage version of Quentin Tarantino鈥檚 Reservoir Dogs in his hometown of Killarney. Little did he know that several years later, he would have a crucial role in one of Tarantino鈥檚 blockbuster Inglorious Basterds.

Michael continued his stage experience in 1999 when he landed a role as Fedotik in the Oxford Stage Company鈥檚 production of Chekhov鈥檚 The Three Sisters.  He later starred alongside legendary Mel Smith in Allegiance, a play about Winston Churchill and Michael Collins at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival.

2. Michael Fassbender鈥檚 big break was the Film 300

In 2006, Michael鈥檚 career hit a milestone when he was cast as the very dishy Stelios in Frank Miller鈥檚 300 directed by Zack Snyder.

He garnered praise for his portrayal of the Spartan and the epic adventure and box office hit catapulted him into the Hollywood spotlight.  This break gave him the opportunity to complete stunt work with a gruelling training schedule. 

Michael also starred alongside Romola Garai, Sam Neill and Charlotte Rampling in French director Francois Ozon鈥檚 first English production, Angel whilst maintaining his presence in TV series鈥� by playing barrister Douglas Nesbitt in Trial & Retribution: Sins of the Father.

3.  Michael Fassbender did odd Jobs before entering Acting

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Prior to his big break, Fassbender鈥檚 job titles included bartender and call centre representative.  He worked in a London warehouse before being cast in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

He paid his dues as a workaday actor juggling TV auditions in between bartending gigs, a stint doing market research for Britain鈥檚 Royal Mail and other odd jobs.

After a few years of struggling to gain traction, he began landing small character parts in various UK television series.

4. Michael Fassbender Played the Role of his Storied Relative

Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins (1890-1922) working the crowd in Dublin in 1922. Image by Agence Meurisse from

According to his maternal grandfather, his mother is the great-great-niece of Irish revolutionary figure Michael Collins; Fassbender played Collins on stage in the 2006 play Allegiance.

Michael Collins (Irish: M铆che谩l 脫 Coile谩in; 16 October 1890 鈥� 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early-20th century struggle for Irish independence.  

He was Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State from January 1922 and commander-in-chief of the National Army from July until his death in an ambush in August 1922, during the Civil War.

5.   Playing Steve Jobs role Overwhelmed Micheal Fassbender

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When Michael Fassbender took on the role of Steve Jobs in 2016, he got acclaim from nearly every critic in the process.

However, while he was filming, Fassbender wasn鈥檛 sure about the movie he was acting in nor the lingo that he was forced to use. He almost took extreme measures to get out of his Oscar-nominated turn in the film.

Fassbender鈥檚 unlikely turn as Steve Jobs helped define him as one of his generation鈥檚 greatest actors. However, his thoughts during filming did not show any hope in this.

He was hellbent on getting out of the stressful role. Still, after speaking to both his father and his agent, he decided to take it anyway.Fassbender did all the preparations to play the late Apple founder. However, once he got on set and began rehearsing, he felt outmatched by the words on the page.

Luckily for both he and audiences, Fassbender stuck around. The film was one of the most well-reviewed movies of 2015, and Fassbender鈥檚 performance was a massive part of the praise.

6. Fassbender lost 30 Pounds for a Role

Michael Fassbender at the premiere of 12 Years a Slave. Image by Gabbo T from

In preparation for his role as Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoner Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen鈥檚 2008 film Hunger, Fassbender underwent a crash diet that restricted him to 600 calories a day. Michael Fassbender received the British Independent Film Award for his performance.

Lost more than 30 pounds to play Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands in the 2008 film Hunger; the film also marked his first time working with frequent collaborator, director Steve McQueen

7.  Michael Fassbender is an Adrenalin Junkie

FIA Porsche Supercup Austria 2021 Nr. 911 Fassbender. Image by Lukas Raich from Wikimedia

We all have our ways of de-stressing from a hectic schedule. Some of us exercise, some hang out in pubs, but Fassbender likes to skydive.  He admitted he is an adrenaline junkie and loves skydiving.

The 12 Years A Slave star rides a motorbike, loves Formula One racing and go-karting and loves the buzz of jumping out of an aeroplane thousands of feet about the ground.

But the actor confessed while he had no fear about jumping, he did get scared of heights while he is hovering up in the air.

Michael told GQ magazine: “Have you ever done skydiving? I’ve done two jumps but I want to do more. Last time was in Hawaii, New Year’s Eve. An incredible feeling. And that’s the sort of thing that blows my mind about human beings. Someone somewhere first had that idea. To jump out of a plane and free fall.”

8. Fassbender Narrated a Humpty Dumpty Audio Book

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It turns out that Michael Fassbender has a secret talent that we did not anticipate.

Aside from his most famous roles, Fassbender also has a potential career as a narrator for audiobooks. He has recently put his own dramatic, dark spin on Humpty Dumpty on BBC Radio 1. Let鈥檚 just say that you鈥檒l never see Humpty Dumpty the same way again.

As he revealed on BBC Radio 1, he鈥檚 an excellent dramatic reader. Host Greg James seemed a little spooked once Fassbender got into it.

In 2020 he starred in Dracula reading for BBC Radio 4.

9.  He Performed his own Stunts for Assassins Creed

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For his role in Assassin鈥檚 Creed, Fassbender performed over 90% of his character鈥檚 fight scenes himself.

But the movie was considered a flop is probably one of the most dreaded experiences as an actor, and Fassbender was forced to face the failure of Assassin鈥檚 Creed.

Fassbender deemed it a 鈥渕issed opportunity鈥� and said that the film likely took itself too seriously and may have stalled too long prior to getting into the action. F

Fassbender also added that the film had 鈥渢hree beginnings,鈥� which sadly did not give it three times the charm.

10.  As a Teenager he Wanted to be a Rock Band Guitarist

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Michael Fassbender revealed that he wanted to be a rockstar in a heavy metal band when he was younger.

The actor is one of the world鈥檚 most well-known Irish names and has been nominated for an Oscar twice 鈥� but he could have taken a very different career path.

鈥淢y original plan was to play guitar in a heavy metal band. I practised two hours a day, every day when I came home from school,鈥� he said.

Best known to some as a young Magneto, Michael Fassbender has cemented himself as one of Hollywood鈥檚 most revered actors. Whether he plays an angry mutant or a disturbed, addicted man, Fassbender brings his own unique energy to the screen.