Michael Fassbender has spoken about his decision to take on the role of Apple innovator Steve Jobs.
The movie was released earlier this month in America and will hit Irish cinema screens next month. It has already received rave reviews for the script and also Fassbender’s performance.
The German-Irish actor explained he was in Australia when he was first approached about the film, and had planned to take a break.
However, when he read the script he felt it was too good to turn down and even compared it to Shakespeare.
Fassbender said: “I just had to do it. I felt really lucky that it came into my path. It’s genius writing. I thought, ‘This is kind of like a modern day Shakespeare.’ So it was just never an option: I just thought I had to do it, I had to take it on.”
The film is directed by Danny Boyle and is made up of three acts, each one backstage before Jobs must give a presentation on his latest computer model.
The movie explores Jobs’ difficult relationship with his colleagues and board members, and also the struggles he faced in his personal life with his ex-partner and daughter.
Fassbender revealed that he didn’t want to decide whether or not Jobs was a hero, but rather try and portray him as accurately as possible and then let the audience decide.
“I never really spent much time thinking about it, to be honest. I just think he was somebody that changed the way we live our lives, in so many different levels. That’s the kind of person that I was trying to fill the shoes of. The good and the bad just comes with it. I just treat him like a human being, basically.”
Fassbender has played divisive characters before in his career and admitted he enjoys the challenge of finding the human traits behind the public persona.
“I feel like it’s not up to me to decide whether he’s an antihero. It just doesn’t concern me. I always try to look at the canvas and the story, and where it is that character fits into the story, and how does it serve the story. Then the audience can go, ‘I hated him,’ or, ‘No, I quite liked him,’ and hopefully that’s what happens.
“People sit down over dinner and the film lives on, hopefully for a couple of hours and maybe the next day, and maybe the day after that. I think as human beings we’re pretty complicated, and pretty shaded, and we’re not so black and white, so those sorts of characters I find more interesting.”
He was also full of praise for director Danny Boyle: “Danny is definitely the most energetic, positive — person, perhaps, and definitely director — that I have ever met. He is just infused with positivity, support, patience, and so much energy, so much love.
“He is a very generous man, and I’ve got to say he was a real driving force for everyone. He always had time to listen to everyone, and immense patience, so I found him to be very impressive. It’s quite humbling to be around somebody like that.”
If you haven’t already seen the film then take a look at the official trailer below.
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