Michael Fassbender Read Free Page A

historical stories at school and the beautiful Killarney countryside, Michael would take himself off for hours at a time, sometimesplaying with friends he had made at school, at other times alone. His parents felt that Killarney was a safe place for him to explore and play and, as long as he was back home for dinner at 5.30pm, they encouraged him to enjoy the outdoor life.
    One film he was desperate to see was Jaws . His parents told him he would have nightmares about man-eating sharks if he did but they relented when his grandmother persuaded them that he would be fine. He should have listened to his mum and dad. The night after watching it he laid in bed, feeling very frightened and vulnerable, and fearing that a huge shark was lurking in the shadows below him.
    Another film he really wanted to see was based on the comic-book adventure Flash Gordon . He was very excited when Josef took him and his sister Catherine to the local cinema in Killarney. But such was its popularity that they had to join a long queue and, despite waiting what seemed like an age to get in, they were turned away after the cinema became full to capacity. Michael can clearly remember his disappointment to this day. Another letdown came after they got a VCR for their home and bought a videotape of ET . Michael and Catherine were terribly excited and could hardly wait for their dad to put it on. Poor Josef then had to tell them that the tape was incompatible with their player.
    One day at school, when he was six, he had a little ‘accident’ in the classroom. There was a rule that pupilswere only able to use the toilet at lunch break or at the end of the day. Michael was unable to contain himself and a little puddle started to form underneath his chair. ‘I think the teacher was more embarrassed than I was,’ he remembers. But one thing that did embarrass him was public speaking. Never one for reading – unlike the studious Catherine – the quiet and shy young Michael felt terribly self-conscious whenever he was asked to read aloud at school. But at home he was much bolder and less inhibited and, as his hero worship of Superman gave way to that of Michael Jackson, he would try to copy his dancing whenever he heard his music or watched him on television.
    â€˜It was a happy childhood, for sure,’ he recalled. ‘Killarney is such a beautiful place. What’s special about Ireland is that we are steeped in storytelling, whether it’s poems, songs or novels. To have that rich involvement in the arts has influenced me. I guess that’s why I do what I do.’
    His secondary school was St Brendan’s College, situated near St Mary’s Cathedral and close to Killarney’s National Park. The impressive grey stone building with arched windows was initially built as a seminary where students were prepared for ordination as priests. Founded by the Bishop of Kerry, David Moriarty, it opened its doors on 16 May 1860, on the Feast of St Brendan, and was known then as the Bishop’s New Palace and later St Brendan’s Seminary. Bishop Moriartyand two priests lived in the upper part of the building and students were taught downstairs. Over the decades, the building grew in size as more classrooms, a science lab, showers and toilets were added and it became a mainstream school with a uniform of blue shirt, tie, navy jumper and grey trousers. Sport was an important aspect at the college, particularly Gaelic Football, and many former students have gone on to sporting glory. Up until the late 1960s the college was mainly staffed by diocesan clergy, with a priest acting as President and school principal, but gradually lay teachers took over these roles. By the 1970s its official title had become St Brendan’s College but it is still widely known as ‘the Sem’ by teachers, students and locals.
    Just as he’d had to do at primary school, Michael frequently had to explain his surname. Fassbender