Meet the magnetic Micheal Fassbender

The German Hollywood star reprises the role of Magneto in the upcoming ‘X-Men: First Class’
It’s perhaps apt that Michael Fassbender should be playing the master of magnetism in “X-Men: First Class” a twisted and charismatic mutant who helps found the X-Men. For the 33 year old German-born
Irish actor has been nothing but magnetic in virtually everything he’s done over an explosive career.He talks to TOI about his latest movie.
So who is Erik Lehnsherr?
We get introduced to him as a boy in the concentration camps and then it sort of jump-cuts to 20 years later. It’s the early 1960s and Erik is a grown man. And he’s on a quest to get Sebastian Shaw who has tormented him in his early years.
Did you watch Ian McKellen’s performances as Magneto in the previous films and work back from there?
I decided to paint a new canvas. So I did my homework and preparation and you want to respect what someone else has done, especially because the fan base really liked what Ian McKellen has done with it. But I don’t think Matthew is very interested in that. So I’m just going my own way and working with whatever is in the comic books and the script.
So is it fun working on a period superhero movie?
Yeah – the way Matthew is shooting, you get a sense of the sixties. And the beautiful way it is being lit has a sixties sort of feel to it. And the clothes of course. It’s great to dive into an actual era and to bring that to the superhero world of 2010. Sort of retro superhero.
Have you thought about where Erik could go in the sequel?
I think the sequel will be more interesting for the Charles character, to be honest. Where Erik goes is pretty clear. What happens to Charles is not so clear. Erik will be building on what he’s come to realize by the end of the first film, which is basically getting rid of human beings.