Michael Fassbender

by Jim Maloney

  In America the Chicago Sun-Times also compared Andrea with Ken Loach, saying, ‘Arnold, who won an Oscar for her shattering short film Wasp, also about a neglectful alcoholic mother, deserves comparison with a British master director like Ken Loach.’ And the Los Angeles Times said, ‘The brilliant power of the film comes from the gritty reality Arnold creates.’

  Andrea had triumphed in her casting. ‘The electrifying Fassbender, so good in Hunger and Inglourious Basterds, nails every nuance in a complex role. His scenes with Jarvis have a hypnotic sexual energy. And while you’re remembering new high-impact names, add Arnold. In only her second film, after 2006’s Red Road, she keeps the screen filled to bursting with the beauty and raw terror of life,’ praised Rolling Stone. And the Australian film magazine, Film Ink agreed – ‘Fish Tank is well shot and uniformly well acted, but especially so by Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender.’

  Having worked back to back on a string of movies, Michael could now finally afford to take time off to relax, confident that he had established himself as an actor. Financially comfortable enough not to need to rush into any job offered to him, he did little for the rest of the year. His next movie was to take him back to Ireland, where he would be beaten up by a woman.

  CHAPTER TEN

  LICENSED TO THRILL?

  Director Steven Soderbergh had been responsible for such cinematic hits as Ocean’s Eleven and its sequels Twelve and Thirteen, along with the powerful Oscar-winning drug movie Traffic and the acclaimed legal drama Erin Brockovich. He had seen Michael in Hunger and Inglourious Basterds and been impressed. ‘My reaction was, “This guy’s a movie star.” It was blatantly obvious to me,’ he recalled. Soderbergh now approached Michael for a brief but scene-stealing role in his new thriller, Haywire.

  The story centred on Mallory Kane, a highly trained freelance covert operative, hired out by her handler (Ewan McGregor) for hazardous secret missions by the US Government. During an assignment in Dublin with an Irish assassin, she is betrayed by her employers and pursued across the city by the local police and ruthless hitmen under the command of the CIA official who hired her (Michael Douglas). Realising she can trust no one, she heads back home to hide out at the house of her father (Bill Paxton). As her enemies close in, she is determined to discover the truth and the part played by a shadowy Spanish official (Antonio Banderas).

  Spielberg had cast mixed-martial-arts supremo Gina Carano as Kane and turned to Michael to play the cool and clinical killer, Paul, a former MI6 operative now doing freelance work. Michael described him as ‘highly paranoid and self-serving. I don’t think there’s much about him that is compassionate towards anyone or anything. He has a mercenary type of personality.’

  Michael had not heard of Gina when Steven told him about her over the phone and asked Michael if he minded being beaten up by a woman! Michael said he didn’t mind and then started to check out some of her fights on YouTube. ‘I thought, “This looks like fun!”’ he recalled. Filming began at the start of February 2010. The scene with Gina was set in a Dublin hotel room, where they are pretending to be husband and wife while on a mission. Gina is suspicious of Paul, who she doesn’t know, but is taken aback when he suddenly attacks her in the room. The impressive but brutal fight sequence involves them throwing each other around and picking up whatever comes to hand to hurt each other with.

  The movie’s stunt team were the same ones that Michael had worked with on 300 so he felt comfortable with them. They, in turn, knew his capabilities so he and Gina were allowed to do the whole fight sequence themselves. ‘I had a lot of fun doing that. We did all of that ourselves, which actors get very proud about!’ Michael told Total Film magazine. ‘I enjoy doing physical stuff. Fight scenes are fun but someone like Gina can literally do it for real. I’m good at pretending!’

  It took a lot of effort, careful choreography and precise timing by both of them to make it look so realistic. ‘It looks really violent but the classic thing when you’re doing fight sequences is that the person who’s getting thrown is doing the leading and the person who’s grabbing someone’s hair, they’re doing the following. So you just try and make it look frenetic and violent, when actually you’re just looking out for each other and making sure nobody gets hurt.

  ‘Because you’ve got to do it over two days and you’ve got to keep repeating it, there’s no point getting all gung-ho and losing control. I don’t like doing fight sequences with people who lose control. It’s not a comfortable place to be and that’s when people get hurt.’

  But neither of them escaped completely unscathed. When Gina had to smash a vase against his head, Michael was told to turn his head as the specially constructed vase hit him. But instead he looked at it and took the full force in his face. ‘Everything went bright for a few seconds and, of course, that’s the take they used!’ he laughed later. This incident was balanced out by Gina breaking her finger on Michael’s shoulder! In another fight scene with Ewan McGregor, McGregor accidentally kicked Gina in the head. But she wasn’t bothered and asked him if he was all right.

  Michael joked that in real life Gina ‘would beat the shit out of me. The fact that Gina is a very physical person and she’s got great command over her body, it made her the perfect partner – because then you can really push things and know that she’s capable. She was actually saying, “Drive me into the television. But really hard.” I was like, “You know, we’re acting here, Gina, we’re not in the ring. Let’s establish that before it’s your turn to start hitting me!”’

  After the adrenalin of the fight scene had worn off, Michael admitted that he was physically sick. ‘We filmed that whole fight over two days and at the end of the second day I just remember I came back to my hotel room and I puked up,’ he said. ‘It’s amazing when your body’s running on adrenaline and then you reach the finish line it just goes, “fuck it!”’

  Michael got on well with Gina. ‘I really liked her a lot. She’s brave as an actress as well,’ he told In Style magazine. ‘She was ballsy and open to adapting on the spot. Just really game. She’s lethal but she’s really sweet and quite a shy person actually. So there’s a great paradox there, which I guess is really interesting for directors. She’s got a vulnerability but also a real steeliness.’

  Michael believed that Soderbergh’s decision to cast Gina in the lead role, despite her having barely any experience of acting, had been brave and inspirational. ‘Steven doesn’t really adhere to any set of rules. He’s always willing to try things if he has a gut instinct about somebody. He sees something and then runs with it. It’s really exciting and inspiring to be around that.’

  It was also in Dublin that one evening Steven saw how the actor had acquired his reputation as a party animal. ‘He’s a blast,’ the director told the Hollywood Reporter. ‘We’re out one night and it’s 3.30am, and we’re in someone’s kitchen and Michael is singing. I’m like, ‘”Dude, I gotta go.’” The phrase Michael uses most often is, “So where are we going now?” He’s the Duracell movie star!’

  Michael also got on well with Ewan McGregor, whom he considered to be down to earth. Like Michael, Ewan is a keen motorcyclist and they spent much of their time talking about bikes.

  The ice-cool, debonair yet ruthless Paul brought to mind James Bond. At the time Haywire was released Daniel Craig was filming his third 007 movie, Skyfall, and it prompted some to wonder whether Michael was aiming to be the next actor to slip into Bond’s tuxedo. He found himself being asked this by interviewers on several occasions and, while doing his best to play it cool, he couldn’t hide the fact that he fancied the role. ‘I think Daniel [Craig] is doing a great job and I don’t think too far into the future. It’s one step at a time right now,’ he told Total Film, before adding, ‘Of course, every guy knows the feeling of walking round the house singing the song to himself, walking around corners with an imaginary gun. Let’s see what happens.’

  While back in Ireland Michael was invited onto RTE’s top chat programme, The Lat
e Late Show, hosted by Ryan Tubridy. When asked whether the fame and accolades that came his way in the wake of Hunger had affected him, he laughed and replied, ‘Most of the time it’s like, “Jesus, I’ve managed to get away with another one.” You’re always expecting a fall after stuff like that. But I don’t read reviews. Noel Coward said that, if you read the good reviews, you have to read the bad ones. And it becomes a distraction as well.’

  At the end of the interview Ryan surprised him by saying that there was a rumour that he could ‘hold a tune’. Michael laughed and looked a little embarrassed before Ryan told him to ‘get over there with the band’ To applause and cheers from the audience, he got up and walked over and launched into a rousing performance of the Beatles hit Twist and Shout. The rendition sounded like that of a young John Lennon – more of a dynamic, hoarse yell than singing. It underlined Michael’s natural and sometimes subconscious ability for mimicry – echoing Lennon one moment but also adept at Sinatra-like singing. He could also do excellent impersonations of Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Walken.

  Back home in Hackney, Michael attended the London Critics Circle Film Awards at the Landmark Hotel on 18 February, where Fish Tank won awards for Best British Film, Best British Director, Best Young British Performer for Katie Jarvis and Best British Actor in a Supporting Role for Michael. There was success, too, for Inglourious Basterds, with Christoph Waltz named as Best Actor of the Year for his portrayal of Colonel Landa and Quentin Tarantino collecting an Outstanding Achievement award.

  A day later Michael and Liam Cunningham went to Ireland’s top musical awards ceremony, the Meteor Ireland Music Awards, in Dublin, where they enjoyed live performances from the likes of Florence and the Machine, Pixie Lott, The Script and Westlife.

  Michael would miss out on glory at that year’s IFTAS in Dublin, where Colin Farrell won Best Actor for his performance in Neil Jordan’s Ondine, but by then he was already thinking about his next role – Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre. Then came a bolt out of the blue. Always cautious about talking about his private life, he was about to have it splashed across the world’s newspapers, websites and news bulletins.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  THE ROAD TO ROCHESTER

  After less than a year together, Michael had split up with Leasi Andrews in the autumn of 2009. But on 10 March 2010 he was staggered when she sensationally applied for a restraining order against him. Michael refused to comment publicly on the accusations and Josef told the Irish Sun, ‘Michael is the most gentle man you could ever meet.’

  In the meantime, Michael went home to Killarney, where he acted as grand marshal for the St Patrick’s Day parade on 17 March. Hiding his personal concerns, he was all smiles as he arrived at a civic reception held by the town council where Major Michael Gleeson presented him with a pen made of Arbutus Killarney wood and a Killarney-crested tie. Later he headed the parade in a horse-drawn carriage, accompanied by Major Gleeson, as his proud parents looked on.

  ‘I’m overwhelmed. It’s a great honour to be involved here today,’ he said in between signing autographs and posing for photographs with fans. ‘It feels quite surreal but it’s very pleasant. There’s a general feeling of support, of encouragement and lots of love – all the happy faces I see when I walk the streets of Killarney.’ Grinning broadly and laughing, he threw himself boisterously into some traditional dancing in the streets with the Irwin School of Irish Dancing.

  The annual parade had been organised for many years by Councillor Michael Courtney, the father of Donie Courtney whose acting classes had first inspired Michael back in his schooldays. Sadly, Courtney senior had died unexpectedly earlier in the year, shortly before he was due to take up the post of the town’s mayor, so this year’s parade was held in his memory. More than 60 groups and floats and 6 bands participated in the parade and afterwards Mr Courtney’s councillor son, Hugh, thanked everyone for making it such a success.

  ‘I would like to thank Michael for travelling back from his busy filming schedule for the parade that honoured the memory of my father,’ he said. ‘Michael has for a long time been a friend of the Courtney family, from the days he and I spent together in the Sem, right through to his acting connections with my brother, Donie. Michael has been and I hope will continue to be a wonderful ambassador for Killarney and we wish him continued success in his acting career.’

  The following day Michael went back to his two former schools. First he visited Fossa National School where the young children screamed, cheered and waved homemade banners as he arrived. There to meet him were principal Kieran Coffey and two of his former teachers, Linda O’Donoghue and Angela Lynch, who had fond memories of him when they taught him in the late 1980s.

  Michael said he had many happy memories of the years he spent in Fossa and made a nostalgic visit to his old classroom, where he found his former desk. He happily posed for photographs with the staff and signed many autographs for the star-struck pupils who took part in a question-and-answer session with him. One particular question amused teachers and movie star alike when a young child asked him what it was like to meet Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show. Michael was also entertained by the pupils singing a medley of songs from classic movies and he joined in enthusiastically with the singing.

  After spending well over an hour at Fossa, the next stop was St Brendan’s College, where he had attended secondary school in the 1990s. He was introduced to a packed canteen by popular English teacher Seamus Grealy, and Michael chatted with the students before picking up a guitar and playing a few songs.

  Four days later he was in Derbyshire to begin filming Jane Eyre. Set in the Peak District in the 19th century, Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel tells the story of Jane, who is treated cruelly as a child by her aunt and is sent to a brutal boarding school. After a couple of years as a teacher she advertises her services as a governess, and receives one reply. It is from Alice Fairfax, the housekeeper at Thornfield Hall, a remote house in the Yorkshire Peak District. Here she teaches a young French girl named Adele and finds a friend in the kindly Miss Fairfax. Jane settles comfortably into her role. One day while she is out walking, a horse slips and throws its rider to the ground. She helps the man back on and later, back at the house, discovers that he is Edward Rochester, master of Thornfield Hall. He teases her, asking whether she had bewitched his horse to make him fall, and the two strike up an intriguing and flirtatious relationship. Adele, it transpires, was left in Rochester’s care when her mother died.

  Meanwhile, odd things are happening in the house. A mysterious fire breaks out and Jane hears a strange laugh that nobody else admits to hearing. Jane is heartbroken over Rochester’s impending marriage to Blanche Ingram. But on a summer’s evening he suddenly proposes to Jane and she accepts. But she is frightened one night when a savage-looking woman enters her bedroom and rips her wedding veil in two. Rochester attributes the incident to drunkenness on the part of one of his servants, Grace Poole, whom he also blamed for the fire. But if that were so, why does he continue to employ her?

  Rochester eventually leads Jane to the altar but it is dramatically declared that he cannot marry because he is still married. Rochester admits this to Jane but explains that his father had tricked him into the marriage for her money. After the ceremony, he had discovered that his bride was rapidly descending into madness and he eventually locked her away in Thornfield, hiring Grace Poole as a nurse to look after her. But whenever Grace has too much to drink, his wife escapes and causes the strange happenings at Thornfield. He begs her forgiveness and asks her to go with him to the south of France but Jane runs away.

  Years later she returns after hearing that Rochester’s wife had set the house on fire and committed suicide by jumping from the roof. In his attempt to rescue her from the fire, he had lost a hand and his eyesight. Jane expresses her love for him and says she will never leave him again.

  Michael admitted to feeling nervous about taking on such a well-known role but his mother and sister were such big fans of
the Bronte sisters that he wanted to see what they thought of him as Rochester. ‘For sure, there’s a fear element involved,’ he told GQ magazine. ‘The novel alone is an amazing piece of work that you want to do justice to. I like that fear with me when I enter most jobs. If I don’t have that fear, I’m complacent, I’m in a comfort zone, so I want to be there. I want to continue learning as much as I can. Fear is a healthy thing – it keeps you disciplined. You have to make sure you’ve done your homework.’

  When Michael learned that the film was to be directed by Cary Fukunaga he became very excited. Michael had loved the American director’s acclaimed film Sin Nombre, a Spanish-language movie about Mexican gang members trying to escape to the United States. ‘Sin Nombre was such a good film, such a beautiful story and so beautifully told. I was like, “This is going to be interesting – an American director coming over and doing his take on this, the classic British piece,”’ he recalled.

  As with Fish Tank, Michael felt that the characters in Jane Eyre had depth and were multi-faceted, behaving unpredictably in various circumstances. ‘I like that the characters are ugly and they’re beautiful and they’re cruel and they’re nurturing. There’s so much complexity to them, they’re so well written, and I find that interesting. There’s an ambiguity within them. You’re wondering where things will lead. Are they going to nourish each other or rip each other apart? That’s why people keep coming back to these characters, because they are so well thought out – as opposed to formulaic stories where, after the first ten minutes, you know where the arc of a character is going to go. This is ever changing, keeping the audience on their toes. And that’s what really attracted me to it, to the performance.’