Michael Fassbender made his screen debut in the 2001 American war drama miniseries, ‘Band of Brothers’ created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. The series was lauded by critics and received a 97% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. He next appeared in television series and films such as ‘NCS: Manhunt’ (2002), ‘Holby City’ (2002), ‘Carla’ (2003), ‘Gunpowder, Treason & Plot’ (2004), ‘Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder’ (2004), ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking’ (2004), ‘Hex’ (2004-2005), ‘Murphy's Law’ (2005), and ‘Trial & Retribution’ (2006). In 2006, he made his big-screen debut in the American epic historical action film ‘300’ directed by Zack Snyder. Even though the film received a mixed response from critics, it turned out to be a major commercial success and grossed over $456.1 million on a budget of $60–65 million. Following his debut, he went on to star in films like ‘Angel’ (2007), ‘Hunger’ (2008), ‘Eden Lake’ (2008), ‘Blood Creek’ (2009), ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009), and ‘Jonah Hex’ (2010). In 2011, he played the role of ‘Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto’ in the American superhero film ‘X-Men: First Class’ directed by Matthew Vaughn. The film opened to a positive reception and grossed over $353.6 million on a budget of $140–160 million. That same year, he also portrayed ‘Carl Jung’ in the David Cronenberg-directed historical romance film ‘A Dangerous Method.’ The film received positive reviews from critics and holds a 78% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2012, he starred as ‘David’ in the science fiction horror film ‘Prometheus’ directed by Ridley Scott. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $403.4 million on a budget of $120–130 million. Fassbender received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of ‘Edwin Epps’ in the 2013 biographical drama film ‘12 Years a Slave’ directed by Steve McQueen. The film opened to massive acclaim and was a major commercial success, grossing over $187.7 million on a $20–22 million budget. He was next seen in films like ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (2014), ‘Macbeth’ (2015), ‘Steve Jobs’ (2015) for which he received an Academy Award nomination, ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016), ‘Assassin's Creed’ (2016), ‘Alien: Covenant’ (2017), and ‘The Snowman’ (2017). He was last seen in the 2019 American superhero film ‘Dark Phoenix’ directed by Simon Kinberg. The film was panned by critics and was a box office bomb.