Born in Germany to a mother from Northern Ireland and a German father, Fassbender relocated to Ireland at age two.[a] He made his feature film debut in 300 (2006). Early roles include in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) and the Sky One fantasy drama Hex (2004–2005). Fassbender first came to prominence playing Bobby Sands in Hunger (2008), for which he won a British Independent Film Award. Subsequent roles include the 2009 films Fish Tank and Inglourious Basterds, and the 2011 films Jane Eyre and A Dangerous Method. He gained mainstream success for playing Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto in X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and David 8 and Walter One in Prometheus (2012), and its sequel, Alien: Covenant (2017).
For his portrayal of a sex addict in Steve McQueen's drama Shame (2011), Fassbender won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA Award. His performance as Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave (2013) earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred in The Counselor (2013), Frank (2014), Macbeth, and Steve Jobs (both 2015). Fassbender received another Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the title role in the latter. After a hiatus, he starred in the action thriller film The Killer (2023).
Fassbender began competing in auto racing in 2017 with the Ferrari Challenge. As of 2023, he races in the European Le Mans Series, driving for Proton Competition. He married Swedish actress Alicia Vikander in 2017.
2025
2024
as Martian
2024
as Arló
2023
as Self
2023
as Thomas Rongen
2023
as The Killer
2019
as Self (archive footage)
2019
as Self
2019
as Erik Lensherr / Magneto
2017
as Harry Hole
2017
as David
2017
as David
2017
as Walter
2017
as David / Walter
2017
as David
2017
as David
2017
as Cook
2017
as Walter
2017
as Walter
2016
as Callum Lynch / Aguilar de Nerha
2016
as Chad Cutler
2016
as Tom Sherbourne
2016
as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
2015
as Self - Performer
2015
as Self
2015
as Steve Jobs
2015
as Macbeth
2015
2015
as Silas
2014
as Erik Lehnsherr
2014
as Frank
2014
as Self
2013
as The Counselor
2013
as Edwin Epps
2013
as Narrator
2012
as David
2012
as Self
2012
as Self
2012
as David
2012
2012
as Michael
2012
as David
2011
as Paul
2011
as Brandon
2011
as Carl Jung
2011
2011
as Erik Lehnsherr
2011
as Edward Rochester
2010
as Burke
2010
as Centurion Quintus Dias
2009
as Man on a Motorcycle
2009
as Richard Wirth
2009
as Connor O'Reily
2009
as LT. Archie Hicox
2008
as Thomas Rainsborough
2008
as Steve
2008
as Bobby Sands
2008
as Christian
2007
as Barney
2007
as Stelios
2007
as Esmé
2005
as B. Charles
2004
as Charles Allen
2004
as Harry Colebourn
2004
as Azazeal
2004
as Charles Bravo
2004
as Guy Fawkes
2003
as Rob
2003
as Tom
2003
as Lukasz
2001
2001
as Burton 'Pat' Christenson
1997
as Douglas Nesbitt
1989
as George Abernethie
as Maurice Hearne
as Jack Unterweger
as Colt Magnum