Michael Fassbender On Prometheus And X-Men: First Class

Michael Fassbender has gone from starring in popular but fairly obscure indie fare like Hunger, Fish Tank and Eden Lake to stealing the show in the likes of Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and Jonah Hex(yes, the movie is actually worth watching for his performance!). And can now be considered one of the most in demand actors in Hollywood. We will next see him as Magneto in X-Men: First Class but he has also landed a role in Ridley Scott's Prometheus, a film which seems to be a prequel to the Alien franchise, but Scott seems determined to set it apart from those movies at the same time.

Here are some excerpts from a recent interview Fassbender did with EW.

Speaking about whether he was a fan of the previous Alien movies..

“Alien and Aliens, both of them,” he says. “And [Scott's] Blade Runner, which I recently watched again. I’m really looking forward to stepping into a Ridley sci-fi world. And the script is really intelligent and has a nice pace to it. Plus, if I’m honest with you, I sort of approach my work as a fan. I’m a massive movie fan and I like to go on an adventure ride as much as I like to see something that has a bit of social commentary to it.”

When asked to clear up exactly how Prometheus will tie in with the previous Alien movies and whether he will indeed be playing an android. A staple of the films since Ian Holm portrayed Ash in Scott's original..

“It’s a different story, but it’s also got the traditional roots. Alien fans will recognize things in it. It’s not ignoring Alien, there’s still a link to that world. But it’s a different story. It’s definitely connected, though.” When asked if he’d be playing an android in the film, Fassbender laughs, “I don’t know what I can say!” But as he says this, he glances down at a damning tape recorder between us and nods affirmatively. “I don’t want to get into trouble…”

And on taking on the role of the younger Erik Lensherr(Magneto) in X-Men: First Class

“I’m in a certain place in my career where a movie like X-Men is sort of the next natural step. It’s not like I’m thinking, Oh, this will raise my IMDB rating or whatever it is. The fact is, I want to have more control over my career and something like X-Men opens me up to a wider audience. Plus, a big movie like that (and Prometheus) scares the piss out of me. And if you’re not getting scared then you’re not succeeding.”