Michael Fassbender (German pronunciation: [ˈmɪçaʔeːl ˈfasbɛndɐ]; born 2 April 1977) is a German and Irish actor, racing driver and producer. His accolades include a win for one Volpi Cup and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, he was listed at number nine on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors. After studying at the Drama Centre London, Fassbender made his feature film debut in 300 (2006). Early roles include in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) and the Sky One fantasy drama Hex (2004–2005). He first came to prominence playing Bobby Sands in the drama Hunger (2008). Subsequent roles include the 2009 films Fish Tank and Inglourious Basterds, the 2011 films Jane Eyre and A Dangerous Method, and lead roles in the films The Counselor (2013), Frank (2014), and Macbeth (2015). He gained mainstream success for playing Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto in the X-Men film series (2011–2019), and David 8/Walter One in two installments of the Alien film series (2012–2017). For his portrayal of a sex addict in Steve McQueen's drama Shame (2011), he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. His portrayals of Edwin Epps in the historical drama 12 Years a Slave (2013) and the title role in the biographical drama Steve Jobs (2015), respectively, earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor. He took a four-year acting hiatus after 2019, during which he began competing in auto racing. After driving for Proton Competition in the European Le Mans Series in 2023, Fassbender made a return to acting with the thrillers The Killer (2023) and Black Bag (2025), as well as starring in the spy series The Agency: Central Intelligence (2024–present). Married to Swedish actress Alicia Vikander since 2017, he has two sons.