Michael Fassbender established himself as one of the most versatile and talented actors in the movie industry, and he has earned widespread critical acclaim, including two nominations for Academy Awards, in the process. He has also been enjoying his starring role in Netflix’s The Killer.
His character portrayals are some of the most varied of the actors of his generation, and we’ve seen the truly excellent performer offer up his services in the likes of Inglorious Basterds, Jane Eyre, X-Men, Prometheus, Shame, Macbeth and Steve Jobs, with each more impressive than the last.
While so many of Fassbender’s on-screen moments have comprised some of the most extraordinary pieces of 21st-century cinema, the actor himself is no stranger to the brilliance of the film medium, once noting his favourite movies of all time in a feature with A-Frame, with a true classic dominating his list of five.
Of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Fassbender said, “It’s got to be my favourite film. People always say, ‘Don’t ask me what my favourite film is!’ But there is a favourite film for me. Because of where it was in my life — around that time when I decided to become an actor — it resonated so much.”
“The Godfather is a fantastic film,” Fassbender continued, expressing his deepest love for the classic crime drama. “In terms of the acting, the directing, the cinematography, the pace, the mood of it, it was such a master class for me. Getting into acting at that time, there was so much there.”
The first Godfather movie was released in 1972 with Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton all starring. Based on Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel of the same name, the film tells of the Corleone crime syndicate family and the rise of son Michael to the seat of power. A sequel followed two years later, and the story was rounded off in 1990.
Fassbender went on to explain how his experience with The Godfather made him realise that he wanted to dedicate his life to acting, seeing as the performances are so great in scope. “I was probably introduced to The Godfather when I was 15, and then I realized that I was going to get into acting,” he said.
The legendary Irish actor signed off: “And all the heroes are there: Brando, Pacino, and De Niro, obviously, coming in The Godfather Part II. That’s the other thing, it’s one of those things where a sequel actually matches up to the original. So, I’ll put the two of them in together.”
Check out the trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather below.
