Claim: Michael Fassbender is an acting professional.

Michael Fassbender -LRB- born 2 April 1977 -RRB- is a German-born Irish actor . His feature film debut was in the fantasy war epic 300 -LRB- 2007 -RRB- as a Spartan warrior ; his earlier roles included various stage productions , as well as starring roles on television such as in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers -LRB- 2001 -RRB- and the Sky One fantasy drama Hex -LRB- 2004 -- 05 -RRB- . He first came to prominence for his role as IRA activist Bobby Sands in Hunger -LRB- 2008 -RRB- , for which he won a British Independent Film Award . Subsequent roles include in the independent film Fish Tank -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , as a Royal Marines lieutenant in Inglourious Basterds -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , as Edward Rochester in the 2011 film adaptation of Jane Eyre , as Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method -LRB- 2011 -RRB- , as a sentient android in Prometheus -LRB- 2012 -RRB- and its sequel , Alien : Covenant -LRB- 2017 -RRB- , and in the musical comedy-drama Frank -LRB- 2014 -RRB- as an eccentric musician loosely inspired by Frank Sidebottom .   In 2011 , Fassbender debuted as the Marvel Comics antihero Magneto in X-Men : First Class , and went on to share the role with Ian McKellen in X-Men : Days of Future Past -LRB- 2014 -RRB- , and reprise it again in X-Men : Apocalypse -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . Also in 2011 , Fassbender 's performance as a sex addict in Shame earned him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards . In 2013 , his role as slave owner Edwin Epps in the slavery epic 12 Years a Slave was similarly praised , earning him his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor . In 2013 , Fassbender appeared in another Ridley Scott film , The Counselor . In 2015 , he portrayed the title role in the Danny Boyle-directed biopic Steve Jobs -LRB- 2015 -RRB- , and played Macbeth in Justin Kurzel 's adaptation of William Shakespeare 's play . For the former , he has received Academy Award , BAFTA , Golden Globe and SAG nominations . In 2015 , he produced the western Slow West , in which he also starred .