Summary
- Michael Fassbender reveals past failed auditions for major roles, including James Bond.
- Despite unsuccessful auditions, Fassbender’s talent and charisma have led to a successful career.
- Fassbender’s experience and appeal make him a strong candidate to reprise his role as Magneto in the MCU.
While fans eagerly await the X-Men and other related characters finally making an incursion into the mainline Marvel Cinematic Universe, one fan-favorite Fox-era star reveals how his previous audition performance means he might get someone else hired over him at Marvel Studios.
The X-Men haven’t been much of a presence in the MCU, in no small part thanks to the rights and expansive work done with the characters during their tenure at Fox, which saw a full trilogy, prequels, solo films, and more brought to the big screen. While each project had its merits and fair criticisms, the one constant win across the board was the casting, which saw the comic characters brought to life by some amazing talents. One prominent name on that list is Michael Fassbender, who joined the franchise starting in 2011’s X-Men: First Class. Fassbender would take on the role of Magneto, perfectly bringing to life an antagonist that’s easily one of the most morally complex characters in comics and following up the perfect depiction of the older version previously played by Ian McKellen, a feat that is itself an accolade.
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In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast made available via Josh Horowitz on YouTube, the star reveals that he’d actually auditioned for another major franchise role, a meeting that saw Fassbender be extremely convincing based on the outcome. When Horowitz asked the star if there was “ever a real Bond conversation” involving Fassbender, the actor replied, “I met with Barbara Broccoli just, you know, through passing, and I actually went in for an audition phase before Daniel [Craig] was cast, but I don’t think I was ever in the mix.” While Bond enjoyers know that Fassbender didn’t get the part despite still being a fan favorite for the role, he revealed that it was likely because he didn’t really advocate for himself at all. “But I remember going into that room and meeting with her and [Michael G.] Wilson,” Fassbender continued, “and I think I was like, ‘Daniel Craig is…’ I don’t know why I was promoting him, I should have been promoting myself.” Considering Craig would eventually get the part, it’s fair to say that this audition was successful in a roundabout way.
“This is what I was saying,” Fasbender concluded. “I was terrible at auditions.” The actor also revealed that he’d similarly fumbled his audition for Mad Max: Fury Road, where he showed up late to the trails and didn’t get the role. However, this hasn’t precluded the star from having an awesome career to this point. Most of his accolades have come from standalone projects, but Fassbender has also starred in and worked as a producer on the Assassin’s Creed movie and a few other franchise projects. Despite being bad at interviews, the actor’s talent and on-screen charisma have clearly opened the doors that his awful performance during the trials would otherwise completely shut. That’s both hilarious and a testament to his value as an actor. With so much experience and success in the rearview, Fassbender is probably a lot better now at staying on schedule and staying on target during his
There are many actors who could play Magneto in the MCU, but it would be hard to argue that anyone has more relevant experience and natural appeal in the role than Fassbender. With the X-Men’s inclusion in the MCU almost long overdue at this point, there’s a good chance that Fassbender could return as the iconic villain and even potentially be the main antagonist within the franchise if the X-Men and mutant-kind take center stage like they have so many times in the comics. That would be a big win for the franchise, so fans can only hope he gets the role off of his resume and that Marvel Studios doesn’t make him audition for it.
The Fox-era X-Men films are available to stream on Disney+.
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Source: Josh Horowitz/YouTube