Michael Fassbender’s Acting in ‘Prometheus’ Made Charlize Theron Want to Punch Him in the Face
Michael Fassbender once starred in the 2012 Ridley Scott film Prometheus alongside Charlize Theron. But while working together, Theron quipped that she had a strong reaction to her co-star’s performance.
Charlize Theron called out the Oscars for snubbing her ‘Prometheus’ co-star Michael Fassbender
Theron once had high praise for Fassbender’s acting ability. The Oscar-winner was one of many who saw Fassbender demonstrate his skill in the movie Shame. The 2011 drama saw Fassbender playing a tormented sex-addict whose life spirals apart due to his addiction. Theron was so enamored by both the film and its star that she felt it deserved Oscar recognition.
So when Fassbender wasn’t nominated for the awards season, Theron considered it a huge mistake.
“I saw him in Shame, in which he plays a sex addict, and I didn’t stop thinking about that film for weeks,” Theron once said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (via Contact Music). “No disrespect to the people who were nominated for Oscars, but the fact he wasn’t to me was utter bulls***. I think he’s incredible.”
Shame’s director Steve McQueen also expressed disappointment that Fassbender wasn’t nominated. He theorized that the film’s unique subject matter was the source for the actor’s perceived snub.
“In America they’re too scared of sex, that’s why he wasn’t nominated,” McQueen once told The Guardian. “If you look at the best actor list you’re saying, ‘Michael Fassbender is not on that list?’ It’s kind of crazy. But that’s how it is, it’s an American award, let them have it.”
Michael Fassbender’s ‘Prometheus’ acting made Charlize Theron want to punch him in the face
Prometheus was a 2012 sci-fi feature directed by Ridley Scott, which was a part of the famous sci-fi franchise Alien. It featured an ensemble cast that included both Theron and Fassbender as co-stars in the feature.
It was the first time the two found themselves working alongside each other. With Theron able to watch Fassbender’s acting personally, she was even more impressed by Fassbender’s level of skill. So much so that she joked she wanted to hurt him for being so good.
“I think he’s incredible. He’s so effortless that I want to punch him! It just seeps out of him,” she said.
In a resurfaced interview with Metro, Theron offered similar praise to her co-star while opening up on their friendship.
“He is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever been around. He’s so goddamn effortless that I want to punch him in the face,” she said. “We instantly hit it off and in many ways he was my saving grace on the film because you have to sit around a lot. We had our dressing rooms next to each other. We’d pass each other’s rooms and be like kids in a dormitory saying: ‘What are you doing?’ We would just chat or listen to music.”
How many Oscar nominations does Michael Fassbender have?
Although he wasn’t for Shame, Fassbender did receive Oscar nominations a bit later in his career. He was in the running for Best Supporting Actor in 2014 for his part in the feature 12 Years a Slave. A couple of years after that, Fassbender earned a 2016 nomination for Best Actor for playing Steve Jobs in the titular film. However, whereas some actors may campaign to win Oscars, Fassbender isn’t always a fan of doing so himself.
“You know, I get it. Everybody’s got to do their job. So you try and help and facilitate as best you can. But I won’t put myself through that kind of situation again,” he once told GQ.
Fassbender quipped that campaigning was more of a politician’s game.
“And I’m not a politician. I’m an actor,” he added.
