British Actors You Should Know: Michael Fassbender

British actor Michael Fassbender was actually born in Heidelberg, Germany; his father, Josef, was German, and his mother, Adele, an Irish woman originally from Larne, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland. Michael was raised in the town of Killarney, Co. Kerry, in southwest Ireland, where his family moved when he was two. His parents ran a restaurant; his father is a chef. In interviews about his childhood, he remembers watching a lot of American TV and films from the 1970s, mostly his mom’s favorites, and can still sing the theme tunes if pressed.

I feel like I’ve learned a lot and I continue to learn. Every time I go back on a film set I have the same doubts and fears. ... This is my job, this is what I do. And then, you know, the same feelings of responsibility and, like I say, doubt and passion. Those things remain the same.

By his own admission, Fassbender came to London as a young teenager with early ambitions to be lead guitarist in a heavy metal band, but he became interested in acting and attended the Drama Center London. He dropped out in his third year and has admitted to dreams, where he returned there to finish the course. His big break came with Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Basterds after losing out to Ben Affleck for a role in Pearl Harbor.