Michael Fassbender shirtless for ‘W’ magazine

Michael Fassbender has no problem dropping trou and taking off his shirt because, he says, that’s exactly how he got his start. Consider him the male version of Kate Winslet.

And he keeps true to his reputation of undressing by posing sexily in the pages of Wmagazine‘s February 2012 issue.

He tells W about his first gig going frontal and how he channeled playing a sex addict in the NC-17 drama Shame.


On stripping off for roles, he says:

“From the start of my career, I’ve been naked. My first job was a commercial for SAS airlines. In the spot, I wake up in a pink room next to a beautiful blonde girl and get out of bed naked.”

From that point forward, it’s been in all of my contracts: He must be naked in this film.”

On his playing sex addict Brandon Sullivan in Shame, he says:

“I must admit—I initially thought it might be fun. You hear ‘sex,’ and you think…sex! But this was definitely the hardest job I’ve done. I can usually shake a character off, but I couldn’t shake Brandon.

He had no sensual enjoyment in his life, and since we filmed the movie so quickly, I found myself living in his skin. Keeping him close to me was exhausting, cold, horrible.

“As Brandon, I never ate. He had one container of Chinese food in his fridge. All that sex and he didn’t have any pleasure. That sad container of noodles tells you more about Brandon than any nudity.”

The sex addiction drama, co-starring Carrie Mulligan and directed by Steve McQueen, already hit theaters in December.

Here’s the synopsis:

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a 30-something man living comfortably in New York balancing a busy job and active social life. When the wayward Sissy (Carey Mulligan), turns up at his apartment unannounced, Brandon’s carefully managed lifestyle spirals out of control.

Watch the Shame red-band trailer below:

See more images from Michael Fassbender’s shirtless W magazine photo shoot, plus red carpet snaps of Michael and Carey Mulligan at the 32nd annual London Film Critics’ Circle Awards.