Michael Fassbender

Biography

Michael Fassbender rose steadily up the acting ranks eventually proving himself to be one of the most versatile actors of his generation. Born in Heidelberg, Germany, he moved with his parents as a toddler to Killarney, Ireland where he was raised. He made his screen debut in the show "Hearts and Bones" (BBC One, 2000-01). He earned a role in the Tom Hanks-produced World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers" (HBO, 2001). 

He continued working steadily for the rest of the decade in television on both sides of the Atlantic. He began gaining notice on film with a role as a Spartan in Zack Snyder's "300" (2006). He starred as imprisoned IRA leader Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen's feature debut "Hunger" (2008). Quentin Tarantino cast him as a British officer who can speak German in his alternative history WWII epic "Inglourious Basterds" (2009), a role that brought him to the attention of the general public. 

He joined Josh Brolin for the comic book film "Jonah Hex" (2010) and played Rochester in an adaptation of "Jane Eyre" (2011). Fassbender stepped into superhero lore when he played Erik Lensherr in "X-Men: First Class" (2011). The character is the basis for super villain Magneto, who had been played in previous "X-Men" films by Ian McKellen. Both actors would play old and young versions of the character in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014). 

Fassbender would step into Magneto's helmet for two more films "X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016) and "Dark Phoenix" (2019). Apart from the mutant franchise, he starred in Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic "Prometheus" (2012). He also played a brutal slave owner in McQueen's Academy Award-winning drama "12 Years a Slave" (2013), earning a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 

He would score another nomination, this time for Best Actor, for "Steve Jobs" (2015), playing the Apple founder. Instead of comics, he transitioned to video game films, playing the lead in the big-screen rendering of the popular game "Assassin's Creed" (2016). 

Scott cast him again in his space thriller "Alien: Covenant" (2017). He also starred in "The Snowman" (2017), playing Harry Hole, the detective from Jo Nesbo's mystery novels. Fassbender then joined Arnold Schwarzenegger in David Sandberg's comedy "Kung Fury 2" (2020).