The 39-year-old was the special guest of honour at the TIFF Soirée Wednesday night (07Sep16), when he had the opportunity to view his previous work while sitting in front of a live audience.
But despite being praised for his dramatic talents, Academy Award nominee Fassbender couldn’t hide his embarrassment when a scene of him in character as mutant Magneto from 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past screened.
“I don’t actually like that performance there, to be honest,” he told the crowd while burying his face in his hands after the film rolled, according to Vulture. “I just think it’s me shouting. It’s just like some dude shouting.”
However, the entire event wasn’t littered with cringeworthy moments, as Michael thoroughly enjoyed watching himself play android David in 2012 sci-fi hit Prometheus.
“I like the way I finished that sentence,” he said with a laugh before explaining he based the physical movements of his robot character on late musician David Bowie and Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis. “My mum was a fan of Greg Louganis and I just remember watching the Olympics thinking his walk (to the diving platform) was so funny and mesmerising, the economy of movement.”
Ultimately Fassbender thoroughly enjoyed the evening, as it is rare for him to view his work alongside an audience. He mostly never sees his movies until the motion picture premieres at festivals.
“I get off on it a little bit,” he grinned. “It’s nice when the sort of nerves and excitement are at maximum and you get to experience it with a very passionate audience and they’re usually very honest as well, so you get the full effect, as it were.”
