On This Day

Birthday of Michael Fassbender

April 2nd 1977

14:07 2 April 2024

German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender was born on this day in 1977. Born in Germany to an Irish mother and a German father, he grew up in the town of Killarney, Co. Kerry, South-West Ireland, where his family moved to when he was two-years old. After landing supporting parts in TV shows including 'Band of Brothers' (2001), Fassbender made his feature film debut in Zack Snyder's '300' (2006).

His breakthrough role came as Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoner Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen's 'Hunger' (2008) for which he won a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor. Further acclaim followed for his performances in Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds' (2009) and Andrea Arnold's 'Fish Tank' (2009). Global recognition arrived for his role as Erik Lehnsherr/Magento in 'X-Men: First Class' (2011), a character he has reprised a further three times to date.

Other notable film credits include 'Eden Lake' (2008), 'Shame' (2011), 'Prometheus' (2012), '12 Years a Slave' (2013), 'Frank' (2014), 'Macbeth' (2015), 'Steve Jobs' (2015), 'Assassin's Creed' (2016) and 'Alien: Covenant' (2017). After a four-year absence from acting, where he committed his time to his other passion of auto racing competing in the European Le Mans Series, he made his return in David Fincher's 'The Killer' (2023) followed by 'Next Goal Wins' (2023) and 'Kneecap' (2024).

A recipient of various accolades including nominations for two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, Michael Fassbender is one of modern cinemas most accomplished and versatile actors. Happy Birthday Michael.