Biography
Who is Michael Fassbender?
Early life and education
Michael Fassbender was born on April 2, 1977, in Heidelberg, West Germany. His mother is from Northern Ireland and his father is German. When he was two years old, his family moved to Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, where his parents operated a restaurant. He grew up attending local schools and served as an altar boy at his family's church.
At the age of 17, Michael decided to pursue acting after being cast in a play. He later left home at the age of 19 to study at the Drama Centre London. Before establishing a steady career in acting, he worked various jobs including as a bartender, postman, manual laborer, and market researcher.
Early television and film roles
Michael made his first screen appearance in the television miniseries Band of Brothers in 2001. He later appeared in the fantasy drama series Hex and played Jonathan Harker in a radio serialization of Dracula. His feature film debut came in the 2006 action film 300, directed by Zack Snyder, in which he played a young Spartan warrior.
He achieved a major career breakthrough by playing prisoner Bobby Sands in the 2008 historical drama Hunger, directed by Steve McQueen. For this role, he adopted a strict diet and lost significant weight, earning critical praise and a British Independent Film Award. Following this success, he appeared in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Andrea Arnold's drama Fish Tank.
Mainstream success and awards
The year 2011 marked a major turning point in Michael's career with several prominent film releases. He starred as Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre and took on the role of Erik Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, in the superhero blockbuster X-Men: First Class. He also portrayed Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method.
For his intense performance as a sex addict in the drama Shame, Michael won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. He later received Academy Award nominations for his work in the historical drama 12 Years a Slave and the biographical film Steve Jobs. After a four-year acting hiatus during which he focused on auto racing, he returned to the screen in thrillers like The Killer.
Personal life
Michael married Swedish actress Alicia Vikander in 2017. The couple shares two children together. Outside of his acting profession, Michael has pursued a career as a professional racing driver, competing in events such as the European Le Mans Series with Proton Competition.
Birthday and age
Michael Fassbender was born on April 2, 1977, which makes Michael 49 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aries sign. Michael shares the date with 37 other famous people.
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