Michael Fassbender thanks McQueen for launching career

LOS ANGELES, March 3 (UPI) -- Michael Fassbender and Steve McQueen are a match made in movie heaven.

Fassbender has appeared in each of McQueen's three feature films, and its a collaboration that has served them both extraordinarily well.

McQueen picked Fassbender to star in Hunger, the critically acclaimed look at the final months of the life of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands. For the role, Fassbender dropped his weight down to 125 pounds, picking up a slew of nominations and awards for his work.

"The fact of the matter is, Steve changed my life," Fassbender said.

After Hunger, Fassbender earned roles in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and a remake of Jane Eyre before he starred as the younger Magneto in X-Men: First Class (and its upcoming sequel, Days of Future Past, out later this year).

But it was his next role with McQueen, as a sex addict in Shame, that again brought Fassbender acclaim for another performance that was as difficult to watch as it was impressive.

Fassbender said he "liked the pain" of working with McQueen, and was thrilled to continue the streak in 12 Years a Slave, which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as the brutal owner Edwin Epps, and took home Best Picture at Sunday's Oscars.

''I want to keep learning in this game and if I can keep working with people like, and especially, Steve, then I'm happy," Fassbender said. ''Steve and I have a really good understanding. We are on the same page, we see things in the same light and we want to take risks and stretch boundaries."

[Yahoo UK]