Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender was born on April 2, 1977, in Heidelberg, Germany, to a German father and an Irish mother. His family relocated to Killarney, Ireland, when he was two years old, where his parents operated a restaurant. He attended Fossa National School and St. Brendan’s College in Killarney before moving to London at 19 to study at the Drama Centre London. Fassbender’s early career involved various jobs, including bartender and postman, before he secured acting roles. His first screen appearance was in the 2001 HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” as Pat Christenson. He also portrayed Azazeal in the Sky One fantasy drama “Hex” from 2004 to 2005. In 2006, he made his feature film debut as Stelios in Zack Snyder’s “300,” which was a commercial success.

Fassbender gained significant recognition for his role as Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s 2008 historical drama “Hunger,” for which he underwent a significant physical transformation. This performance earned him a British Independent Film Award. He continued to build his filmography with roles in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” and the British drama “Fish Tank” in 2009, both critically acclaimed. The 2010s marked a period of mainstream success, beginning with his portrayal of Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto in “X-Men: First Class” in 2011, a role he reprised in several sequels. That same year, his performance as a sex addict in “Shame” earned him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival, as well as Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

His career further ascended with his role as Edwin Epps in “12 Years a Slave” (2013), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2015, Fassbender starred as Steve Jobs in the biopic of the same name, receiving Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and SAG nominations for Best Actor. He also played the titular role in “Macbeth” (2015) and appeared as the android David in “Prometheus” (2012) and “Alien: Covenant” (2017). After an acting hiatus that began in 2019 to pursue auto racing, he returned to film in 2023 with “The Killer” and “Next Goal Wins,” and also took on an executive producer role for projects like “The Kitchen” (2023).