Beloved by both Audiences and critics alike, Michael Fassbender is one of the most diverse actors you’re going to find in modern Hollywood. As comfortable in a Summer Blockbuster as he is in an independent film, a drama or a comedy, he’s turned his hand to pretty much everything during a 15 year acting career that’s seen him twice nominated for academy awards, only to be cruelly denied.
Sure, these days Michael’s best known for playing Magneto or Macbeth, but very actor has to start out somewhere, so what Fassbender performances does a little journey through the pages of IMDB throw up that you might have passed you by?
5. Band Of Brothers (2001)
‘Brothers’ was a typically massive Speilbergian affair when it came out, and contained a number of career-founding performances including Damian Lewis, Tom Hardy and Stephen Graham. It also just happens to be Michael Fassbender’s first credited performance.
He played Lt ‘Pat’ Christenson in 7 episodes of the show, with his appearances occurring in the opening and closing stages of the story. His character made a number of sharp entrances and exits, being repeatedly wounded and invalided out during the proceedings, but as one of the founding ‘Tacoma Men’ he was key to the overall narrative-arc of the series. Not a bad debut to start out with.
4. 300 (2006)
Fast forward 5 years, and it’s another small role as a soldier in a larger ensemble piece, as Fassbender whipped himself into peak physical shape to play one of King Leonidas’s legendary 300 Spartan Warriors, named Stelios.
Amidst the frenzied chaos of the action scenes and sheer numbers of massed extras, his character does get a few moments to shine, including a touching bromance with the son of Vincent Regan’s Captain, and an important slicing and dicing role in the closing battle.
3. Eden Lake (2008)
Eden Lake is not a nice movie in any way, shape or form. Fassbender plays one of the lead characters named Steve, a perfectly affable middle-class chap who goes off for a camping holiday at the eponymous lake with his pretty girlfriend, only for things to go horrendously downhill at a rapid rate of knots.
The two city dwellers quickly get under the skin of a pack of feral local youths, which leads to a series of running ‘cat and mouse’ encounters, that don’t end well for Steve. Or indeed anyone else for that matter. As thrillers go, it’s horrible, but not in a bad way. The violence is eye-avertingly brutal, and the idea of any kind of redemption is a million miles removed from this story.
2. Fish Tank (2009)
One of the first movies to truly put Fassbender on the map, this hidden little gem tracks the comings and goings of a young British teenager living on a local council estate. Fassbender plays a sleazy character called Conor, who is dating her mother, but goes on to develop an unhealthy relationship with the daughter.
It’s a good film because of a third act twist, which adds a whole new layer of ‘wrong’ to Fassbender’s character. In less talented hands, this would have been another ‘straight to DVD’ affair, but instead serves as an incisive and analytical insight into some of the issues that face struggling lower-class families.
1. Blood Creek (2009)
We end our little list with with a bonkers little Joel Shcumacher number that sees the Fass returning to his Germanic roots to play an undead Nazi monster, haunting the corn fields of West Virginia.
It’s a by-the-numbers affair, that was part of the initial wave of ‘Nazi-Zombie’ horror flicks that the market became saturated with, but it also features Dominic Purcell, and an early appearance by Henry Cavill.
Fassbender is a truly repugnant antagonist, covered in Swastika laden prosthetics, slicing and dicing his way through proceedings. It’s a million miles away from his later work, which is one good reason why you should seek it out!
Did you remember any of these roles? Tell us below!