Michael Fassbender facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael Fassbender
Fassbender in 2015
Born	(1977-04-02) 2 April 1977 (age 48) Heidelberg, West Germany
Occupation	Actor racing driver
Years active	2001–present
Works	Full list
Spouse(s)	Alicia Vikander ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	2
Awards	Full list

Michael Fassbender (born 2 April 1977) is an actor from Germany and Ireland. He has won many awards and has been nominated for important ones like the Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars) and BAFTA Awards. In 2020, he was named one of Ireland's greatest film actors by The Irish Times.

Fassbender started his film career in 300 (2006). Before that, he appeared in TV shows like Band of Brothers (2001) and Hex (2004–2005). He became well-known for playing Bobby Sands in the movie Hunger (2008). He also starred in Inglourious Basterds (2009), Jane Eyre (2011), and A Dangerous Method (2011).

He became very popular for playing Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto in the X-Men movies, including X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016). He also played robots named David and Walter One in the science fiction films Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).

His role as Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave (2013) earned him an Academy Award nomination. He also starred in Frank (2014), Macbeth, and Steve Jobs (both 2015). For playing Steve Jobs, he received another Academy Award nomination. After taking a break from acting, he returned in the action thriller The Killer (2023).

Since 2017, Fassbender has also been involved in auto racing. He races in the European Le Mans Series. In 2017, he married Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.

About Michael Fassbender

Where He Grew Up

Michael Fassbender was born on 2 April 1977, in Heidelberg, which was then in West Germany. His mother, Adele, is from Northern Ireland, and his father, Josef, is German. He has an older sister named Catherine.

When Michael was two years old, his family moved to Killarney, Ireland. His parents wanted their children to grow up in the countryside. They ran a restaurant there called West End House, where his father was also a chef.

Becoming an Actor

Michael was raised Catholic and was an altar boy at his family's church. He decided he wanted to be an actor at age 17 after being in a play. At 19, he moved to London to study acting at the Drama Centre London.

In 1999, Fassbender left the Drama Centre to perform in a play called Three Sisters with the Oxford Stage Company.

Acting Career Highlights

Early TV Roles (2001–2005)

Fassbender at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival

Michael Fassbender's first TV role was in the award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers (2001). He played Pat Christenson. He also played Azazeal in the fantasy drama Hex on Sky One.

He appeared in a Guinness beer commercial in 2004. In the commercial, he played a man who swims across the ocean to apologize to his brother. This commercial won an award in 2005.

First Film Roles (2006–2010)

In 2006, Fassbender played Stelios, a Spartan warrior, in the action film 300. This movie was very successful.

For his role as Bobby Sands in the 2008 film Hunger, Fassbender worked very hard. He followed a strict diet to lose weight for the part. This role helped him become well-known and he won a British Independent Film Award.

The year after Hunger, he appeared in two more films: Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino, where he played a British officer, and Fish Tank. Both films were praised by critics.

Fassbender at the premiere of 12 Years a Slave in 2013

In 2010, Fassbender was in Centurion, a Roman war film. He also played Richard Wirth in the film Blood Creek.

Becoming a Mainstream Star (2011–2019)

The year 2011 was a big one for Fassbender. He played Edward Rochester in the film Jane Eyre. Then, he starred as Magneto in the superhero movie X-Men: First Class. This film was a hit and made him a popular movie star.

He also played Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method (2011). Later that year, he worked with director Steve McQueen again in Shame. For his role in Shame, Fassbender won an award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award.

In 2012, he was in the action film Haywire and the science fiction movie Prometheus. His performance as the robot David in Prometheus was highly praised.

In 2013, he starred in 12 Years a Slave, his third movie with director Steve McQueen. Fassbender's role as Edwin Epps earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He played Magneto again in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). He also starred in Frank (2014), a comedy.

Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Justin Kurzel at the Cannes premiere of Macbeth in 2015

In 2015, Fassbender co-starred in the western film Slow West. He also played the famous Apple founder Steve Jobs in the movie Steve Jobs. Many critics praised his performance, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

He also took on the role of Macbeth in a film directed by Justin Kurzel in 2015.

In 2016, Fassbender played Magneto once more in X-Men: Apocalypse. He also starred in The Light Between Oceans and the thriller Trespass Against Us. His last film of 2016 was Assassin's Creed, based on the video game. He also helped produce this film.

In 2017, he returned as the robot David in Alien: Covenant, the sequel to Prometheus. He also played Harry Hole in The Snowman. In 2019, he was in Dark Phoenix, another X-Men film.

Break and Return to Acting (2020-Present)

After a four-year break to focus on auto racing, Fassbender returned to acting in 2023. He starred in the action thriller The Killer, directed by David Fincher. He also appeared in Next Goal Wins, directed by Taika Waititi. Fassbender also helped produce The Kitchen, a drama for Netflix.

He will next appear in the TV series The Agency and the films Hope and Kung Fury 2.

Auto Racing Career

Michael Fassbender
European Le Mans Series career
Debut season	2020
Current team	Proton Competition
Racing licence	FIA Bronze
Car no.	93
Engine	Porsche
Starts	22
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	3
Poles	2
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	5th in 2021
Previous series
2020-2021 2019 2017–2018	Porsche Supercup Porsche Driving Experience Ferrari Challenge

Michael Fassbender has loved motorsport since he was young. He said that even before he started acting, he dreamed of racing. He is a fan of Formula One and the Scuderia Ferrari team.

He began racing in the Ferrari Challenge in May 2017. In 2018, he won a race at the Daytona International Speedway.

Fassbender driving at the Red Bull Ring during the 2021 Porsche Supercup season

In 2019, Fassbender switched to Porsche racing. He competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany. Porsche even made a YouTube series about his journey called Road to Le Mans.

In 2020, he joined Proton Competition for the 2020 European Le Mans Series. He shared a Porsche 911 RSR with other drivers.

In 2021, Fassbender continued racing with Proton Competition. He achieved his best finish yet, coming in second place at the final race in Portimão. His team finished fourth in the LMGTE teams championship.

European Le Mans Series Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class pos.
2022	Proton Racing	Matt Campbell Zacharie Robichon	Porsche 911 RSR-19	LMGTE Am	329	51st	16th
2023	Proton Racing	Richard Lietz Martin Rump	Porsche 911 RSR-19	LMGTE Am	246	DNF	DNF

Personal Life

Michael Fassbender has a German passport. He also speaks German. He grew up Catholic but now describes himself as a "lapsed Catholic," meaning he doesn't practice regularly, but still lights candles in church. He supports the Liverpool F.C. football team.

Fassbender likes to keep his personal life private. He lived in London until 2017, when he moved to Portugal.

Fassbender and Vikander at the 2020 Dublin International Film Festival

In December 2014, he started dating Swedish actress Alicia Vikander. They had worked together on the film The Light Between Oceans (2016). They got married in a private ceremony in Ibiza on 14 October 2017. They now live in Lisbon, Portugal, and have two sons.

Awards and Nominations

Michael Fassbender has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the group that gives out the Oscars) for two roles:

• 86th Academy Awards (2013): Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave.
• 88th Academy Awards (2015): Nominated for Best Actor for his role as Steve Jobs in Steve Jobs.

He has also won a Critics' Choice Movie Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Venice International Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actor. He has been nominated for four BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and two European Film Awards.

See also

In Spanish: Michael Fassbender para niños