Michael Fassbender is an Irish actor who brings a dark brooding intensity to the roles he plays. His versatility and commitment to creating detailed characters has seen him perform magnificently in a huge variety of different roles during his career, and it’s a career that has been showered with praise and awards in equal measure. Michael Fassbender has had lean times over the years, after a few early roles he struggled to find work, often resorting to bartending and other odd jobs to support himself when he failed to win roles, but now in 2018 his star quality is shining brighter than ever before, and he has finally gained the recognition and marketability that once eluded him for so long.
The characters Michael Fassbender plays are often deep, intelligent and brooding, and the real-life Michael off-screen shares some of those characteristics, but now in 2018, with his starring role in the latest instalment of the Prometheus saga, ‘Alien : Covenant’ being praised by critics, his recognizability and the intensity he brings to a part have never been more in demand, but exactly how much money has Michael Fassbender made during his long and varied career? Read on to find out.
Michael Fassbender Net Worth 2018 – $175 Million
How Did Michael Fassbender Make His Money & Wealth?
Michael Fassbender was born in Heidelberg, Germany on April 2nd 1977. His father, Josef was German and his mother Adele was Irish, originally from Larne, County Antrim. The Family moved back to Ireland when Michael was two and settled in the town of Killarney in County Kerry. They ran a restaurant there and Michael worked in the family business after finishing school. His parents strongly encouraged him to go to university, but by the age of seventeen Michael had already set his sights on an acting career.
Michael’s parents, and particularly his father continued to try to persuade Michael to go to university, but after they had witnessed a stage production of Reservoir dogs that he directed they knew he was serious about his chosen career, and they supported him from that point onwards. Early in his career Michael found he won roles with almost no real effort, he attended drama school in London but before he had even managed to graduate he had found an agent and won a part in ‘Band of Brothers’, Steven Speilberg’s mini-series following the wartime exploits of Easy Company in occupied Europe, but after that Michael’s Career hit a slump. He spent the next two years in Los Angeles, but during that time he only managed to find a total of six weeks work. Michael returned to London where he managed to find the occasional small part on TV or in a commercial, but he generally relied on bartending and other jobs to support himself.
Michael knew that many actors were in the same position, but he was determined to keep on auditioning and wait for his big opportunity to come along. He worked as a mail man for a while as well as bartending while attending auditions, he appeared in a radio adaptation of Dracula, playing the part of Jonathan Harker, and won some small roles in plays, but in 2006 he finally began to land bigger and better roles. That year he played the role of a Spartan soldier, Stelios in ‘300’ the fantasy action movie which met with huge commercial success, and in 2008 he won the role that catapulted him to international fame.
Michael’s big opportunity finally came knocking in the form of the 2008 feature film ‘Hunger’, in which he played the starring role of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands. Michael’s convincing performance in the independent production helped it win a number of awards, including a BAFTA and six IF TAs, but the preparation Michael had undertaken for the role impressed all those who worked with him.
In order to portray the emaciated Sands Michael restricted himself to a 900 calorie a day diet for three months before filming began, but that was not the only hardship he underwent to make his performance so believable. One notable 17 minute sequence, in which a priest, played by his co-star Liam Cunningham tries to talk Bobby Sands out of hunger striking only took five takes, mainly due to Cunningham moving into Michael’s London apartment for a period during which they rehearsed the lengthy scene up to fifteen times a day in order to get their final performances perfect. British Director Steve McQueen was praised for his debut feature film, and critics overwhelmingly praised Hunger, McQueen and Michael Fassbender in equal measure, and the following year Michael received a British Independent Film Award for his portrayal of Sands.
In 2009 Michael continued to build on his growing reputation, he appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ as well as the British drama ‘Fish Tank’, both of which were well-received and popular with critics and fans alike, but in 2010 he appeared in the Western ‘Jonah Hex’ which was far less well-received, although when questioned about the criticism of the film Michael admitted that he hadn’t actually seen it himself. 2010 also saw Michael star in the historical action war film ‘Centurion’, which although it was not successful at the box office, was well received by critics and considered to have been overshadowed by other big budget films that came out at the same time.
In 2011 Michael Fassbender’s ability to play a wide variety of different characters saw him starring alongside real-life good friend James McAvoy in the superhero prequel to the X-Men, ‘X-Men : First Class’, in which he played Magneto. The film was a huge success with critics and at the box office, and it made Michael a far more recognizable star and opened the doors to many other roles in his career. That wasn’t the only acclaimed role that Michael played that year either, he also played the psychologist Carl Jung in David Cronenberg’s ‘A Dangerous Method’ as well as returning once again to work with director Steve McQueen to star in ‘Shame’, in which he played the role of Brendan, a thirty something who struggles with sexual addiction.
His part in ‘Shame’ was perhaps Michael Fassbender’s most celebrated role to date. He won the Volpi Cup award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Brendan and was seriously considered for an academy award for Best Actor, although he was not nominated for it in the end. Michael was however nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA award for his performance in ‘Shame’ and the role won him many new fans. Michael became a far more popular choice amongst directors after the success of ‘Shame’, the enthusiasm and commitment he brought to every role marked him out as an actor who would always give a convincing and moving performance, and bigger roles were soon to follow.
In 2012 he appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s action-thriller ‘Haywire’, in which he played a British secret service agent, and that year he also starred in Ridley Scott’s Sci-Fi blockbuster ‘Prometheus’, which was a box office smash. Michael’s performance as the android David 8 was singled out for praise and the following year he worked with Ridley Scott again in the titular role in the crime-thriller ‘The Counselor’. He returned to work with director Steve McQueen again in 2013 when he took the starring role in ‘12 Years a Slave’. His critically acclaimed work in the role of Edwin Epps won him an Academy Award nomination but once again he failed to win the award, to the surprise of many.
Michael Fassbender’s versatility, intelligence and ability to convincingly portray any character had by now left him busier than ever before, and Michael is not one to rest on the successes of his past roles. Since then he has returned as Magneto in ‘X-Men : Days of Future Past’, and even managed to give one of the most detailed character portrayals ever seen on screen, in the 2014 comedy ‘Frank’, even though he wears a full face mask for the vast majority of that production. He played Steve Jobs in Danny Boyle’s biopic of the late Apple founder, which once again won him an Academy Award nomination, and he also returned to the role of Magneto a third time in 2016 when he appeared in ‘X-Men Apocalypse’.
Michael Fassbender has become busier, and better known with each new role that he injects with his intensity and commitment, and now in 2018 he has never been more respected by fans, critics, directors and his fellow actors alike. His personal fortune has grown to $175 million, largely in part to his roles in the X-Men blockbusters in recent years, and the offers continue to flood in for Michael. Earlier this year he once again returned to the role of the android David 8 for the sequel to Prometheus, ‘Alien : Covenant’, and he still finds time to perform in the occasional Shakespearian role, such as his portrayal of Macbeth alongside Marion Cotillard and David Thewlis in 2014.
Michael Fassbender Personal Life & FAQ’s
Is Michael Fassbender Married?
Michael previously had a relationship for several years with his ‘Shame’ co-star, actress Nicole Beharie, but in 2014 he met actress Alicia Vikander on the set of the romantic drama ‘The Light between Oceans’, which was released in 2016. He and the Swedish actress like to keep their private life out of the public eye as much as possible, but in July 2017 the couple were spotted relaxing on a yacht in Ibiza together, and the couple appear to be very happy in each others company.
Michael Fassbender’s Salary & Annual Earnings in 2017
Michael’s incredible success in his acting career saw him become the highest paid actor in the World during 2016-2017, largely due to his earnings from the X-Men series of films, as well his role as David 8 in Prometheus and its sequel. His earnings from July 2016 to July 2017 were an astonishing $75 million, and he boosted that impressive sum through measured investments, a substantial real-estate portfolio and several endorsement deals. Michael also owns several restaurants in Germany called ‘The Fat Fassbender Burger’ chain, as well as a majority stake in a German Soccer team, and he also launched his own perfume, ‘With Love from Michael’, and a fashion line ‘Michael Fassbender Seduction’ in 2016.
Where Does Michael Fassbender Live?
Despite Michael’s status as the highest paid actor in the World, he still avoids many of the extravagant purchases that many of his A-list actor colleagues splash their cash on. He still lives in the same modest apartment in Hackney, London he bought in his late twenties, and so far he has resisted moving into an extravagant mansion, explaining to reporters in 2016 that he was simply ‘far too busy’ to even consider making a move right now. But he did manage to find the time to splash out on a $2 million luxury apartment in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon earlier this year. The apartment features stunning views of the river Tagus from a private garden terrace and its own swimming pool.
Michael Fassbender’s other Accomplishments
Michael has a range of other interests beyond his passion for his acting career. He is a fluent German speaker, although he admitted that he had to brush up on his ‘rusty’ German for his role in ‘Inglourious Basterds’. He has expressed an interest in working in German speaking films or plays in the future, and he is also an accomplished pianist. Earlier in 2017 he formed a production company, Finn McCool Films with Irish screenwriter Ronan Bennett, and the two are currently working on various projects together.
