When Michael Fassbender leaves a set, people cry

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When Michael Fassbender leaves a set, people cry
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Orla Barry
14:03 Monday 21 October 2013

British Director Steve McQueen talks about the ‘magic’ of actor Michael Fassbender, the impact of slavery on his own family and Oscar campaigning

Actor Michael Fassbender has a strange kind of magic about him, says Director Steve McQueen that leaves people in tears when he finishes a scene.

The director was speaking on The Green Room following the London Premiere of his new film 12 Years A Slave.

It is the third time the Irish-German actor and director have collaborated on film (previous films include Hunger and Shame) and it’s a relationship McQueen values highly.

“I value our relationship more than a lot of things about life, I value it tremendously. He’s an artist, an amazing artist. He’s a force to be reckoned with.”

12 years a Slave is a harrowing account of slavery in North America and is based on the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup, a free New Yorker who is duped and abducted into servitude.

Trusting the Director

The role of Solomon is played by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor who says he knew working with McQueen would be demanding but he trusted him entirely.

“You have to slip down the rabbit hole and just do it. I knew Steve would go to all the places you would have to go to, I knew that’s what I wanted to do and I was excited about that.”

My family went through slavery

Steve McQueen brushed off suggestions that the violence depicted on screen which reportedly resulted in a number of walk-outs in Toronto was too graphic for audiences.

“If I was going to make a film about slavery, I wasn’t going to hold back. I’m here as an individual today because some members of my family went through slavery. Fact.”

Oscar campaigning

Murmurings of Oscar nominations are already in the air, although Fassbender who was Oscar nominated for his performance in McQueen’s earlier film Shame, says he won’t be playing the Oscar game this time around.

Steve McQueen agrees with Fassbender’s stance saying he doesn't plan to campaign for the Oscars either.

“I’m not campaigning. Michael’s campaign is on screen. That’s Michael Fassbender’s Oscar Campaign. There’s nothing much more to say. He’s done his thing, that’s it.”