Michael Fassbender impresses in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Michael Fassbender is a seriously good actor and a serious-minded man.
His best work has come when playing cheerless characters such as Bobby Sands in Hunger, sex addict Brandon in Shame and sadistic slave owner Edwin Epps in 12 Years A Slave. He also did a convincing turn as the emotionless robot in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus.
Meeting him, you are never less than impressed with Michael’s feel for his craft, and pleasantness, but left thinking he inherited his humour more from his German father than his Irish mother.
But whether because of his rumoured romance with supermodel Naomi Campbell or letting his hair down playing Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Michael showed a different side this week.
He was all smiles walking the specially-themed blue carpet at the Leicester Square premiere of the latest X-Men film on Monday night, arm-in-arm with co-stars James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.
He revealed that, when it came to fun on set, he was one of the main instigators.
“I was in the thick of it,” he chuckled. “I remember one time where I felt like Ned Kelly. Josh Helman (who plays Major Stryker), Nick Hoult (The Beast) and James had pinned me into my trailer in a pellet gun shoot-out.
“James was trying to come in through the skylight and Nick shot me through a crack in the door it was an excellent shot, actually, he got me right in the neck and it took the wind out of me briefly.
“We did wear protective eye wear, so there was safety involved, but there was scarring to the face also, so eventually the guns were taken away. It was a purely professional environment!”
Despite the on-set japes, Michael found returning to the character from X-Men: First Class a tougher challenge than he expected.
Having made the journey from Erik Lehnsherr to Magneto in that first outing, we now find him in a cell several levels under the Pentagon having been indicted in the assassination of President Kennedy.
But 50 years in the future, mutants are in an even bigger fix, brought to the brink of extinction by an army of human-created robots called the Sentinels, who have also ungratefully enslaved their former masters.
Teaming together, Magneto and Professor X send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to warn their younger selves and to get them to stop the 1970s research into the Sentinels before it ever becomes a problem.
“We departed from the Erik character in First Class, so now we’re sort of dealing more with the Magneto side of him,” said Michael, who can also be seen at cinemas currently playing Frank Sidebottom in the surreal comedy, Frank.
“So when we pick up with him this time, he’s made that transition, and the difference from the first film is that now he’s without an army. When we meet him, he’s been in prison for many years, so he’s a bit of a lone wolf.
“Coming back to the role I concentrated on Ian McKellen’s voice more than I did last time as we’re both in the same film and I thought it would be weird if we didn’t sound similar. And I didn’t want to have to ask him to study my voice!”
Social media was abuzz with excitement when it was announced that the stalwarts from the original films would be returning for Days of Future Past.
Michael, too, professed his delight although he only actually got to meet McKellen at an X-Men fan event after his work on the film had been completed.
“I finally met Ian at Comic-Con and it was fantastic to finally get face-to-face. He left me a nice note in the trailer on set, saying he was sorry we missed each other again, so that was quite special.
“And then to have everybody else there, with all of the excitement in that room it was pretty amazing. Comic-Con is a special festival, the one place that truly belongs to the fans.”
Our verdict 4/5
You may need Professor X’s intellect to work out everything that is going on, particularly in relation to the original trilogy of movies, but X-Men: Days of Future Past builds on the foundations laid in First Class.
Michael Fassbender nails it as Magneto and his on-screen “bromance” with James McAvoy continues to blossom. Stealing the show, however, is American Horror Story’s Evan Peters as kleptomaniac Quicksilver, whose brief appearance is comically slowed down and set to music so we don’t blink and miss it.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is at cinemas from Thursday.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe