THE FASSBENDER INTERVIEW: Part 2
ROCK and roll was the dominant force in Michael Fassbender’s life as a teenager growing up in Killarney and, like others his age, he lived for music. And the edgier and heavier it was the better.
“The music you listened to kind of defined who you were. Nowadays it’s great because, I guess, teenagers just listen to everything,” he said.
The first album he ever got his hands on, a gift from a cousin, was Gary Numan’s The Pleasure Principle but he soon developed a passion for heavy metal and flirted with punk.
“I got into Iron Maiden and then Guns n’ Roses, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. I liked punk as well and I liked a lot of the stuff that came out of Seattle, like Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden,” he reflected.
Music even dictated his social life and he and a group of friends would think nothing about regularly driving to the shores of Rossbeigh beach and back just to hear sounds that appealed to them.
“The Ross Inn was a great spot back then. The Cahills played great music there. We’d all pile into the back of a bus and head out.”
Then Michael Jackson entered his world and he was immediately hooked on his music before then the energetic, fun-loving teenager from Fossa got caught up in the whole breakdance craze that was sweeping the world.
“I actually went to breakdancing classes in the old church beside Fossa school. We formed a club. I don’t know how long it lasted but I remember going to classes and I loved them.
“Breakdancing was such a phenomenon then. It spread all over the world and it ended up in Fossa as well,” he recalled.
Yer Man’s Pub and The Strawberry Tree – now Courtney’s on Plunkett Street – was his social headquarters in Killarney and he and a few pals would often stage some amateur dramatics upstairs to help shorten the winter nights – or lengthen the summer ones.
“It was a great spot. One of my big regrets was that I didn’t go on one of the magical mystery tours they arranged every year. They were legendary,” he said.
The Fáilte bar was another venue where they staged more pub theatre and Michael and his buddies thought they hit the big time when the East Avenue Hotel allowed them to use Revelles nightclub to stage their own unique version of Quintin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.
“It’s amazing the way things went full circle and I ended up working for Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds. He raised an eyebrow when I told him we staged Reservoir Dogs in Killarney but he didn’t look for royalties when I assured him we gave the money to charity,” Michael laughed.
The former Sem boy felt quite comfortable working in theatre and had a particular appreciation for the work of Shakespeare and the classics but he soon became enchanted by film and what the camera observes and reads.
After school in the evenings Michael would take the short walk along the Bishop’s Path to help out in West End House, the hugely popular lower New Street restaurant run by his parents, Josef and Adele, for close on 20 years.
“Everybody that has a family business knows that it’s all hands to the pumps. I’d come from school and jump in behind the bar. I worked in the front of house mainly but, at times, I’d would go into the kitchen and do desserts and stuff like that”.
And he picked up some handy tips while by his father’s side.
“I can cook. I wouldn’t say I’m good but I’m not afraid of the kitchen. I can do simple things relatively well. Dad taught me well, to be fair, and to be around it all the time as well you pick up ideas.”
Michael’s best friends back then remain his best friends now and he loves nothing more than catching up with old pals Billy McSweeney, Julianne Moore, Peter Brunner, Marco Conte and Aidan Quirke.
Eoin O’Shea from Ross Road, whose parents formerly ran the Súgan Hostel in Killarney, was another buddy and Michael shared a house with him for a year in Cork when he attended Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa for theatre studies after the Sem.
“I’m still in touch with them all. I see them all when I’m back or if there’s a film, I try to get them to come along to the premiere,” he said.
Tomorrow: Fassbender on family: His love for his parents and sister and the memorable six weeks he spent touring Europe on motorbikes with his dad
