Skip to footer

'Macbeth' actor Michael Fassbender shares how he got advice from his 'X-Men' co-star James McAvoy

Fassbender and McAvoy have starred in multiple 'X-Men' movies together and McAvoy had previously played Macbeth onstage. 'We discussed various things about the relationship (between Macbeth and his wife),' Fassbender said.

|
Jonathan Olley/The Weinstein Company/AP
'Macbeth' stars Michael Fassbender.
  • By Helena Williams Reuters

Michael Fassbender says taking on the role of Macbeth was a daunting task and he sought advice from his "X-Men" co-star Scottish actor James McAvoy in the latest big screen adaption of William Shakespeare's tragedy.

"Shame" and "Steve Jobs" actor Fassbender stars alongside French actress Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth in the movie, which is directed by Justin Kurzel.

"It's definitely daunting because the work is so excellent you feel a responsibility to it and you don't want to make a shambles of it," Fassbender told Reuters.

One of Shakespeare's best known plays, Macbeth tells the story of a Scottish general whose ambitious wife urges him to commit murder to accede to the throne.

"There's just so many endless versions you can do and various interpretations of it which is very encouraging and also kind of depressing because I would walk away thinking 'God ... there's another thousand ways that could have been done'," Fassbender said.

"It's not one of those texts where you can sort of go in, look at it in the morning before, and sort of wing it. It's definitely something that I just spent many hours at home practicing and getting comfortable with."

Fassbender said he spoke about the part to McAvoy, who has played Macbeth on stage.

"James and I had a few conversations about it and he actually gave me a sort of miniature 'Macbeth' book," he said. "We discussed various things about the relationship (between Macbeth and his wife), what we felt it was about."

The movie, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May, was partly shot on Scotland's Isle of Skye. It features stark, cold landscapes and grisly battle scenes.

"The landscape is almost a central character in itself," Fassbender said. "I could definitely understand the mysticism of Scotland."

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to 'Macbeth' actor Michael Fassbender shares how he got advice from his 'X-Men' co-star James McAvoy
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2015/1205/Macbeth-actor-Michael-Fassbender-shares-how-he-got-advice-from-his-X-Men-co-star-James-McAvoy
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe