Ok, so I reckon most of us find the W August 2012 cover to be a bit, forced and unnatural looking. Well, you'll find this German Playboy interview with Michael (courtesy of Christine again, thanks!) a bit, forced and unnatural too. With a slight disconnect in some of the comments, mostly due to translation, this interview comes off a little odd, proclaiming too much about stuff that doesn't matter - it's like Better Home & Gardens magazine interviewing a grave digger... they just don't seem, natural, you know what I mean? I dunno, what do you think? First off, this womanizer talk is freshly squeezed bullshit. But then again, this is Playboy, what are they going to talk to Michael about, his method of acting? Nah. My comments are indicated by (FF:snark).
Michael is doing these German interviews in support of Prometheus opening there in August:
INTERVIEW "I ONLY FLIRT DRUNK"(FF:oh please)
Hollywood shooting-star Michael Fassbender about his hunting ground for women and the thrill of risks. Silent and smooth, almost catlike, the 35-year-old slides through the half open door to the suite 234 of the "Dorchester Hotel" in London. He is slender, wiry. His gaze: a mixture of rays, stare and lasers. From 9th of August we will see him in Ridley Scott's sci-fi spectacle "Prometheus" on the big screen. More than almost any other actor of his generation Fassbender is characterized by a chameleon-like versatility and thrilling intensity. That must have to do with that gaze. Taxing and curious. The reputation of a passionate hedonist and womanizer precedes him (FF: sigh). Should one go like a bull at a gate? Why not...
PLAYBOY: Mr Fassbender, are you a womanizer?
Fassbender: One could say that—or what do you mean by a womanizer? (FF: he's so young)
PLAYBOY: Someone who likes it very much to bed very often as many women as possible. (FF:rolleyes)
Fassbender: (laughs) I know how to enjoy myself, but I find that a bit exaggerated.
PLAYBOY: What does that mean you know how to enjoy yourself?
Fassbender: That I know how to savour my life. And that I, if I go out, want to have fun. But I really don't go out on purpose to pick up women. However, should something arise, I'm not definitely averse. Sex is a part of life.
PLAYBOY: Do you have a favourite pick-up line when flirting?
Fassbender: Oh God, no. I haven't got a certain fad. And I only flirt when I'm drunk.
PLAYBOY: Since a few months you are the absolute shooting-star among the actors. Directors are lining up to work with you, and you are courted by Hollywood. Does that increase one's sex appeal?
Fassbender: This attention is certainly good for my ego. And I also don't mind that my popularity has drastically increased compared to my past. But I don't think that I became more attractive for women. Of course because of my many travels and the many new encounters the hunting area has grown slightly larger.
PLAYBOY: With your career explosion have the distractions and the occasional lapses increased?Fassbender: No, maybe they are just a bit more expensive (laughs). The opportunities to crash and lose sight of my goal have always been there—and still are. That's why I eventually focused very deliberately on what is most important to me: the acting. That's why I'm also pretty sure that I'm immune to thirst for fame and egomania. That has partly to do with the fact that I had my international breakthrough relatively late in my early 30's.
PLAYBOY: What did you do differently than ten years ago?
Fassbender: That's the crazy thing: nothing! The only difference was that several directors believed in me. As an actor you're always dependent on somebody to give you a chance to show what you can.
PLAYBOY: So everything is a matter of luck?
Fassbender: Yeah, sure. However, I never lost faith that someday I can show what is inside me. Although... When Ridley Scott called me and wanted to have me for his Alien film "Prometheus", at first I thought I was dreaming. And then when he told me that he knew almost all my films and was especially thrilled by "Hunger", I almost jumped for joy. To be honest: That made me very proud.
PLAYBOY: Is pride typical for you?
Fassbender: No, this is the wrong word. Let's call it: acknowledgement, recognition. For me this is—from the right people—immensely important for my work. This gives me confidence and the strength for new deeds. As an actor I like to take risks, I'm certainly not a resident of the comfort zone. I'm better off if I'm a be a little bit scared when I take on new challenges.
PLAYBOY: You don't seem very anxious.
Fassbender: I speak not of the cowardly fearfulness, but of a creative anxiety, the queasy feeling in the stomach area, which drives one forward and incites one to do things that one has never tried before.
PLAYBOY: One overcomes fear if one challenges it?
Fassbender: Exactly. I well remember a kind of key moment in terms of coping with fear. That was a few years ago when I was out of work again. In order not to sink into self pity, I assigned myself with a new task every week, I had to deal with. One day diving was on the program. So I went to the swimming pool and up the 10-metre tower. After much hesitation I jumped feet first into the water. Then I wanted to try a dive. But I dared not to do it. I was on the tower for maybe 20 minutes and was about to descend the ladder, when a boy asked me: "Are you scared?". I said, "yes, you have no idea!" He said: "Just dive in. The first time you might hurt you. But that's not as bad as you think. Just jump again. And you will see that it gets better with each try." I jumped, and that was one of the best advices I ever got. In the imagination it's often worse than in reality. (FF:cute story)
PLAYBOY: And this experience has made you a daredevil?
Fassbender: That was the beginning. From that day on, I got more and more courageous. By now I've become a real thrill-seeker. To expose myself to physical risks and dangers gives me each time a surge of adrenaline. Then I feel very intensely that I'm alive.(FF:I hope his insurance co isn't reading this)
PLAYBOY: Skydiving, bungee jumping, diving with sharks? (FF:Sharks like other sharks)
Fassbender: About that. Bungee jumping is not likely. I don't like to hang like a yo-yo on a rope. Lately, I have great fun doing Sky Diving. If someone high above the clouds tells me: "Come on, take your parachute and finally jump off the plane," that gives me the ultimate thrill.
PLAYBOY: Any other vice we will not tell your life insurance company?
Fassbender: I'm totally fascinated by speed. But I want to feel the pace really up close, preferably on a motorcycle. When I accelerate my machine, I feel this unique thrill that comes when you barely have something under control — and it could very easily spiral out of control.(FF: he's a cute speed freak)
PLAYBOY: You drive in motorcycle races?
Fassbender: No, but if I'm out and about on a lonely highway, then I sometimes test my limits. When I am travelling with friends or relatives I drive civilised. Last year I finally fulfilled my dream: a motorcycle tour through Europe with my father. We drove about 7000 kilometres.
PLAYBOY: What kind of machine you have?
Fassbender: Unfortunately, last year my Triumph Speed Triple was stolen off the street in London. Now I bought a brand new BMW, the R 1200 GS/Adventure. Quite fantastic.
PLAYBOY: Have you ever toyed with the idea of becoming a racing driver?
Fassbender: There was a time in my life when I've actually toyed with racing. But then I kept my hands off it, not least for my mother's sake. However, I'm doing go-kart races.
PLAYBOY: Have you ever won anything?
Fassbender: No, unfortunately not. During the last race I even rear-ended someone, and I was given a penalty round. My finish therefore was accordingly.
PLAYBOY: We haven't talked about your new movie "Prometheus".
Fassbender: ... This is perhaps a good thing! Because Ridley Scott has impressed upon me to give nothing away. The little that I can tell is that it's a prequel to the "Alien" saga.
PLAYBOY: You play an android?
Fassbender: Yeah. Ridley described the role like this: "You're like a kind of space butler, who ensures that the spacecraft flies, and who takes care of the crew." So I'm more of an intellectual android — in contrast to the one Rutger Hauer played in "Blade Runner". "Blade Runner" is my favourite Ridley Scott film, although my parents forbade me to see it while I was a child because of the realistic depiction of violence. So I grew up with "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones". I started to watch films by Ridley Scott, David Cronenberg and Quentin Tarantino at the age of 17 or 18 — and they left a powerful impression.
PLAYBOY: Now you have made films with all of these directors...
Fassbender: (smiles) Pretty crazy, is it not?
Interview: Ulrich Lössl; Playboy Magazin Germany August 2012
---
I know some of these interviews have to make Michael come across as a real cool bad ass woman magnet. But, that's false, it's only to entice people who know nothing about him, to be intrigued about him and go see his movie.![]()
Michael is doing these German interviews in support of Prometheus opening there in August:
 |
| Michael and Damon Lindelof filming Prometheus |
INTERVIEW "I ONLY FLIRT DRUNK"(FF:oh please)
Hollywood shooting-star Michael Fassbender about his hunting ground for women and the thrill of risks. Silent and smooth, almost catlike, the 35-year-old slides through the half open door to the suite 234 of the "Dorchester Hotel" in London. He is slender, wiry. His gaze: a mixture of rays, stare and lasers. From 9th of August we will see him in Ridley Scott's sci-fi spectacle "Prometheus" on the big screen. More than almost any other actor of his generation Fassbender is characterized by a chameleon-like versatility and thrilling intensity. That must have to do with that gaze. Taxing and curious. The reputation of a passionate hedonist and womanizer precedes him (FF: sigh). Should one go like a bull at a gate? Why not...
PLAYBOY: Mr Fassbender, are you a womanizer?
Fassbender: One could say that—or what do you mean by a womanizer? (FF: he's so young)
PLAYBOY: Someone who likes it very much to bed very often as many women as possible. (FF:rolleyes)
Fassbender: (laughs) I know how to enjoy myself, but I find that a bit exaggerated.
PLAYBOY: What does that mean you know how to enjoy yourself?
Fassbender: That I know how to savour my life. And that I, if I go out, want to have fun. But I really don't go out on purpose to pick up women. However, should something arise, I'm not definitely averse. Sex is a part of life.
PLAYBOY: Do you have a favourite pick-up line when flirting?
Fassbender: Oh God, no. I haven't got a certain fad. And I only flirt when I'm drunk.
PLAYBOY: Since a few months you are the absolute shooting-star among the actors. Directors are lining up to work with you, and you are courted by Hollywood. Does that increase one's sex appeal?
Fassbender: This attention is certainly good for my ego. And I also don't mind that my popularity has drastically increased compared to my past. But I don't think that I became more attractive for women. Of course because of my many travels and the many new encounters the hunting area has grown slightly larger.
PLAYBOY: With your career explosion have the distractions and the occasional lapses increased?Fassbender: No, maybe they are just a bit more expensive (laughs). The opportunities to crash and lose sight of my goal have always been there—and still are. That's why I eventually focused very deliberately on what is most important to me: the acting. That's why I'm also pretty sure that I'm immune to thirst for fame and egomania. That has partly to do with the fact that I had my international breakthrough relatively late in my early 30's.
PLAYBOY: What did you do differently than ten years ago?
Fassbender: That's the crazy thing: nothing! The only difference was that several directors believed in me. As an actor you're always dependent on somebody to give you a chance to show what you can.
PLAYBOY: So everything is a matter of luck?
Fassbender: Yeah, sure. However, I never lost faith that someday I can show what is inside me. Although... When Ridley Scott called me and wanted to have me for his Alien film "Prometheus", at first I thought I was dreaming. And then when he told me that he knew almost all my films and was especially thrilled by "Hunger", I almost jumped for joy. To be honest: That made me very proud.
PLAYBOY: Is pride typical for you?
Fassbender: No, this is the wrong word. Let's call it: acknowledgement, recognition. For me this is—from the right people—immensely important for my work. This gives me confidence and the strength for new deeds. As an actor I like to take risks, I'm certainly not a resident of the comfort zone. I'm better off if I'm a be a little bit scared when I take on new challenges.
PLAYBOY: You don't seem very anxious.
Fassbender: I speak not of the cowardly fearfulness, but of a creative anxiety, the queasy feeling in the stomach area, which drives one forward and incites one to do things that one has never tried before.
PLAYBOY: One overcomes fear if one challenges it?
Fassbender: Exactly. I well remember a kind of key moment in terms of coping with fear. That was a few years ago when I was out of work again. In order not to sink into self pity, I assigned myself with a new task every week, I had to deal with. One day diving was on the program. So I went to the swimming pool and up the 10-metre tower. After much hesitation I jumped feet first into the water. Then I wanted to try a dive. But I dared not to do it. I was on the tower for maybe 20 minutes and was about to descend the ladder, when a boy asked me: "Are you scared?". I said, "yes, you have no idea!" He said: "Just dive in. The first time you might hurt you. But that's not as bad as you think. Just jump again. And you will see that it gets better with each try." I jumped, and that was one of the best advices I ever got. In the imagination it's often worse than in reality. (FF:cute story)
PLAYBOY: And this experience has made you a daredevil?
Fassbender: That was the beginning. From that day on, I got more and more courageous. By now I've become a real thrill-seeker. To expose myself to physical risks and dangers gives me each time a surge of adrenaline. Then I feel very intensely that I'm alive.(FF:I hope his insurance co isn't reading this)
PLAYBOY: Skydiving, bungee jumping, diving with sharks? (FF:Sharks like other sharks)
Fassbender: About that. Bungee jumping is not likely. I don't like to hang like a yo-yo on a rope. Lately, I have great fun doing Sky Diving. If someone high above the clouds tells me: "Come on, take your parachute and finally jump off the plane," that gives me the ultimate thrill.
PLAYBOY: Any other vice we will not tell your life insurance company?
Fassbender: I'm totally fascinated by speed. But I want to feel the pace really up close, preferably on a motorcycle. When I accelerate my machine, I feel this unique thrill that comes when you barely have something under control — and it could very easily spiral out of control.(FF: he's a cute speed freak)
PLAYBOY: You drive in motorcycle races?
Fassbender: No, but if I'm out and about on a lonely highway, then I sometimes test my limits. When I am travelling with friends or relatives I drive civilised. Last year I finally fulfilled my dream: a motorcycle tour through Europe with my father. We drove about 7000 kilometres.
PLAYBOY: What kind of machine you have?
Fassbender: Unfortunately, last year my Triumph Speed Triple was stolen off the street in London. Now I bought a brand new BMW, the R 1200 GS/Adventure. Quite fantastic.
PLAYBOY: Have you ever toyed with the idea of becoming a racing driver?
Fassbender: There was a time in my life when I've actually toyed with racing. But then I kept my hands off it, not least for my mother's sake. However, I'm doing go-kart races.
PLAYBOY: Have you ever won anything?
Fassbender: No, unfortunately not. During the last race I even rear-ended someone, and I was given a penalty round. My finish therefore was accordingly.
PLAYBOY: We haven't talked about your new movie "Prometheus".
Fassbender: ... This is perhaps a good thing! Because Ridley Scott has impressed upon me to give nothing away. The little that I can tell is that it's a prequel to the "Alien" saga.
PLAYBOY: You play an android?
Fassbender: Yeah. Ridley described the role like this: "You're like a kind of space butler, who ensures that the spacecraft flies, and who takes care of the crew." So I'm more of an intellectual android — in contrast to the one Rutger Hauer played in "Blade Runner". "Blade Runner" is my favourite Ridley Scott film, although my parents forbade me to see it while I was a child because of the realistic depiction of violence. So I grew up with "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones". I started to watch films by Ridley Scott, David Cronenberg and Quentin Tarantino at the age of 17 or 18 — and they left a powerful impression.
PLAYBOY: Now you have made films with all of these directors...
Fassbender: (smiles) Pretty crazy, is it not?
Interview: Ulrich Lössl; Playboy Magazin Germany August 2012
---
I know some of these interviews have to make Michael come across as a real cool bad ass woman magnet. But, that's false, it's only to entice people who know nothing about him, to be intrigued about him and go see his movie.
