Age, Biography, and Wiki
Michael Fassbender was born on April 2, 1977, in Heidelberg, West Germany, to a German father and an Irish mother. His family moved to Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, when he was two years old. Fassbender's early life was marked by a strong interest in acting, which led him to study at the Drama Centre London. He began his acting career with roles in stage productions before transitioning to screen appearances. Fassbender's breakthrough came with his portrayal of Sergeant Burton Christopherson in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. He has since become a household name, known for his versatility and depth in various film genres.
| Occupation | Stage Actor |
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| Date of Birth | 2 April 1977 |
| Age | 48 Years |
| Birth Place | N/A |
| Horoscope | Aries |
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Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 6 feet 0 inches (183 cm)
- Weight: 170 pounds (77 kg)
These measurements reflect his physical stature, which has been a factor in his diverse range of roles.
| Height | 6 feet 0 inches |
| Weight | 77 kg |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Michael Fassbender is married to Swedish actress Alicia Vikander. The couple tied the knot in 2017 and has a daughter together. Fassbender's personal life is often highlighted by his commitment to his family and his passion for racing, as he is also an accomplished driver.
His mother, Adele, is originally from Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and his father, Josef Fassbender, is German. He has an elder sister named Catherine, a neuropsychologist at the MIND Institute in Sacramento, California, United States. According to lore on his mother's side of family, his mother is the great-grandniece of Michael Collins, an Irish leader during the War of Independence.
At age two, Fassbender moved to Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, where his parents were to operate the West End House, a restaurant where his father also worked as a chef. His parents chose Killarney because they wanted their children to grow up in the countryside, in contrast to the industrial backdrop of their previous German residence.
One year after his success at the Cannes Film Festival with Hunger, he appeared in two films. The first was Quentin Tarantino's revisionist World War II comedy-drama Inglourious Basterds, in which he played the British officer Lieutenant Archie Hicox. Fassbender acted opposite Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent, and Christoph Waltz. Eric Kohn of IndieWire praised the film and its ensemble declaring, "Hell, it’s one of the best films of the century. The cast is superb". The other film was the British drama Fish Tank directed by Andrea Arnold. Fassbender plays the boyfriend acting opposite Kierston Wareing as the single mother with two children. Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter praised their chemistry and roles writing, "Fassbender and Wareing give honest and open performances as the conflicted adults". Both films were critically acclaimed and Fassbender's work in them also well received.
In June 2012, Fassbender told GQ magazine that he was dating American actress Nicole Beharie, with whom he had worked on the film Shame (2011). In December 2014, he began dating Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, with whom he had worked on the film The Light Between Oceans (2016). They married in a private ceremony in Ibiza on 14 October 2017, and have two sons together. They moved to Portugal in 2017 and purchased a home in the Alfama district of Lisbon, with Fassbender selling the property in the Hackney area of London he had lived in since 1996.
In 2010, Fassbender's ex-girlfriend Sunawin Andrews accused him of two incidents of domestic abuse that had occurred the previous year. News reports cited a court petition and a restraining order filed by Andrews, alleging that Fassbender was screaming at her while driving recklessly; after she got out of the car, he allegedly drove forward and dragged her alongside it. This resulted in a hospital visit to treat "a twisted left ankle, blown out left knee cap, and a [burst] ovarian cyst" in addition to "lots of internal bleeding". The second incident came when he allegedly returned to their hotel room from a film festival, inebriated and accompanied by a friend, and the two men tried to get into bed with her; after checking into another room for the night, she alleges that he threw her over a chair and broke her nose when she tried to wake him up after finding him asleep in his own urine. He has not publicly addressed the allegations, which resurfaced during the MeToo movement in 2017.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Michael Fassbender's net worth is estimated to be around $40 million. His annual salary varies, with estimates ranging from $10 million to $13.8 million. This discrepancy likely reflects fluctuations in his earnings based on his projects and endorsements. Fassbender's net worth has seen an increase over the years, driven by his successful film career and business ventures.
Career, Business, and Investments
Fassbender's career is marked by a wide range of critically acclaimed performances:
- Early Success: He gained recognition with roles in Band of Brothers and 300.
- Breakthrough Roles: His performances in Hunger, Inglourious Basterds, Shame, and 12 Years a Slave solidified his status as a leading actor.
- Blockbuster Franchises: He is well-known for his portrayal of Magneto in the X-Men series and Steve Jobs in the biographical film Steve Jobs.
- Producing Ventures: Fassbender has also ventured into producing, with credits on films like Slow West and Assassin's Creed.
- Business Ventures: He has invested in a tech startup called Neuromagic.
Fassbender, who was raised Catholic, served as an altar boy at the church his family attended. He and his sister spent summer holidays in Germany. He attended Fossa National School near Killarney and St. Brendan's College in Killarney itself. Fassbender decided that he wanted to be an actor at age 17 when he was cast in a play. At age 19, he left home to study at the Drama Centre London. In 1999, Fassbender dropped out of the Drama Centre and toured with the Oxford Stage Company to perform the play Three Sisters. Before finding steady work as an actor, he worked as a bartender, postman, manual labourer, market researcher for Royal Mail, and Dell employee.
On the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Fassbender played Michael Collins, his great-great-granduncle, in Allegiance, a play by Mary Kenny based on the meeting between Collins and Winston Churchill. In addition, Fassbender produced, directed, and starred in a stage version of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, along with his production company. He appeared in Angel (UK title: The Real Life of Angel Deverell), about the rise and fall of an eccentric young British writer (played by Romola Garai) in the early 20th century. Fassbender plays her love interest, an average painter named Esmé. The drama—the first English-language effort by French director François Ozon and based on the novel by Elizabeth Taylor—premiered on 17 February 2007 at the Berlin International Film Festival and on 14 March 2007 in Paris. He then made a brief appearance in Dean Cavanagh and Irvine Welsh's Wedding Belles as Barney, speaking with a Scottish accent.
Fassbender co-starred in Slow West, a western starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ben Mendelsohn, in 2015. He played Silas, an enigmatic traveller. Fassbender played late Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs in the Danny Boyle-directed film Steve Jobs, which began filming in January 2015, in San Francisco, U.S., and premiered in September of that year. The film is an adaptation of Walter Isaacson's book Steve Jobs. The screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin. Fassbender became attached after Christian Bale dropped out of the project. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter praised Fassbender writing, "while [he] doesn't closely physically resemble the man, he fully delivers the essentials of how we have come to perceive the man". His performance saw him nominated for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor.
Social Network
While Fassbender maintains a relatively low profile on social media platforms, his work and personal life are frequently covered by media outlets. His influence extends beyond his acting career, with his involvement in philanthropic activities and his passion for racing.
In 2010, Fassbender appeared as Burke in Jonah Hex, a Western film. In an interview at San Diego Comic-Con, a comic book convention, Fassbender commented of the role: "I kind of developed this character and really pushed it – I'll see how far I pushed it ... I had this idea about the character, he's kind of psychotic, he gets his kicks in perverted ways. I didn't want to make it very obvious or like something you've seen before." Hex received predominantly negative reviews. Responding to criticism of Jonah Hex in 2011, Fassbender commented: "Pretty awful, was it? I haven't seen it myself." He portrayed Quintus Dias in Neil Marshall's bloody Roman war-thriller-drama film Centurion, and was cast as Richard Wirth in the Joel Schumacher film Blood Creek alongside Dominic Purcell. The story centres on a West Virginia man who comes to terms with his moral qualms and helps his brother wipe out a family that had been protecting a Nazi occultist and who had kept his brother captive for him to feed off for years.
He began racing in the Ferrari Challenge's Coppa Shell class in May 2017, finishing 15th in his debut at Mugello Circuit. He also raced in the Challenge's North American division, finishing sixth at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In 2018, he ran the full Ferrari Challenge North America schedule, winning the season opener at Daytona International Speedway and finishing fifth in the standings. Fassbender moved to Porsche in 2019, competing in Porsche Carrera Cup Germany with the German Porsche Racing Experience and being the subject of a YouTube series by Porsche, called Road to Le Mans. The following year, he joined Proton Competition for the full 2020 European Le Mans Series, sharing a 2017 Porsche 911 RSR with Richard Lietz and Felipe Fernández Laser. Later in the year Fassbender raced a guest car in the Porsche Supercup at Circuit de Catalunya and was involved in a startline crash putting him out of the race within seconds.
Education
Fassbender's educational background includes studying at St. Brendan's College in Killarney, Ireland. He later pursued his acting career at the Drama Centre London, where he honed his skills and prepared for his professional debut.
Michael Fassbender's career is a testament to his dedication to his craft and his ability to excel in a variety of roles. His personal life and business ventures further highlight his multifaceted personality and achievements.
2011 was a breakout year for Fassbender. He portrayed Edward Rochester in the period film Jane Eyre, featuring Mia Wasikowska in the title role, with Cary Fukunaga directing. He next portrayed Magneto in the superhero blockbuster X-Men: First Class, the prequel to X-Men. Set in 1962, it focuses on the friendship between Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy) and Magneto and the origin of their groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. The film was released on 3 June 2011 to general acclaim and financial success and promoted Fassbender to being more of a popular movie star. In 2011, Fassbender starred in A Dangerous Method by director David Cronenberg, playing Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. The film premiered at the 2011 Venice Film Festival. He also starred in Shame, as a man in his thirties struggling with his sexual addiction. Shame reunited him with director Steve McQueen and premiered at the 2011 Venice Film Festival, where Fassbender won a Volpi Cup Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Brandon. Fassbender was a serious contender for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, but he was not nominated, and according to various sources his full-frontal nudity and depiction of sexual encounters inspired voters "to fantasize, and not actually vote." Fassbender achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal in Shame and received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award.
In 2012, he appeared as an MI6 agent in Haywire, an action-thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh, and in Ridley Scott's science fiction film Prometheus. Reviews praised both the film's visual aesthetic design and the acting, most notably Fassbender's performance as the android David 8. Fassbender played the title role in Ridley Scott's The Counselor, a 2013 film based on the Cormac McCarthy script. In 2013, he starred in 12 Years a Slave, his third collaboration with Steve McQueen. Fassbender's portrayal of Edwin Epps earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Fassbender reprised the role of Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past (released 23 May 2014), the sequel to X-Men: First Class. Fassbender stars in the title role in Frank (released late summer 2014), a comedy loosely inspired by Frank Sidebottom, a comic persona created by English comedian Chris Sievey.
Fassbender has expressed an interest in motorsport since his youth, stating in 2020, "Even before I started acting, I had a big dream to go racing." A fan of Formula One and Scuderia Ferrari, he was a member of the team's Corso Pilota training course in 2016.
