Michael found Macbeth ‘daunting’

Michael Fassbender says taking on the role of Macbeth was a daunting task and he sought advice from his X-Men co-star Scottish actor James McAvoy in the latest big screen adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy.

Shame and Steve Jobs actor Fassbender stars alongside French actress Marion Cotillard, who plays Lady Macbeth in the movie, which is directed by Justin Kurzel.

“It’s definitely daunting because the work is so excellent, you feel a responsibility to it and you don’t want to make a shambles of it,” Fassbender said. One of Shakespeare’s best-known plays, Macbeth tells the story of a Scottish general whose ambitious wife urges him to commit murder to accede to the throne.

“There’s just so many endless versions you can do and various interpretations of it, which is very encouraging and also kind of depressing because I would walk away thinking ‘God ... there’s another thousand ways that could have been done’,” Fassbender said.

“It’s not one of those texts where you can sort of go in, look at it in the morning before and sort of wing it.” — Reuters