Birthday's to share this week : 29th March - 4th April 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Michael Fassbender does on 2nd April - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 38, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 29th March

• Elle Macpherson - Born1964, turns 51 - Actress | Producer | Supermodel
• Lucy Lawless - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actress
• Brendan Gleeson - Born 1955, turns 60 - Actor
• Christopher Lambert - Born 1957, turns 51 - Actor | Producer
• Michael Winterbottom - Born 1961, turns 54 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Eric Idle - Born 1943, turns 72 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Comedian | Singer | Songwriter

Monday 30th March

• Warren Beatty - Born 1937, turns 78 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Robbie Coltrane - Born 1950, turns 65 - Actor | Writer
• Paul Reiser - Born 1957, turns 58 - Actor  | Producer | Writer
• Richard Dysart - Born 1929, turns 86 - Actor

Tuesday 31st March 

• Ewen McGregor - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Christopher Walken - Born 1943, turns 72 - Actor
• Richard Chamberlain - Born 1934, turns 81 - Actor
• Paul Mercurio - Born 1963, turns 52 - Actor
• Howard Gordon - Born 1961, turns 54 - Producer | Writer

Wednesday 1st April

• David Oyelowo - Born 1976, turns 39 - Actor | Producer
• Barry Sonnenfeld - Born 1953, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Actor | Cinematographer
• Asa Butterfield - Born 1997, turns 18 - Actor
• Ali McGraw - Born 1939, turns 76 - Actress

Thursday 2nd April

• Linda Hunt - Born 1945, turns 70 - Actress
• Christopher Meloni - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor
• Michael Fassbender - Born 1977, turns 38 - Actor | Producer

Friday 3rd April

• Eddie Murphy - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Director | Comedian | Singer
• Alec Baldwin - Born 1958, turns 57 - Actor | Producer
• Ben Mendelsohn - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor

Saturday 4th April 

• Robert Downey Jnr. - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor | Producer
• Hugo Weaving - Born 1960, turns 55 - Actor | Producer
• Barry Pepper - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actor | Producer
• Craig T. Nelson - Born 1944, turns 71 - Actor | Producer
• David E. Kelley - Born 1956, turns 59 - Writer | Producer

Michael Fassbender was born in Heidelberg, Germany to mother Adele from Larne, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland originally, and father Josef, a German. At the age of two the family moved to Killarney in County Kerry where his parents operated 'The West End House' - a restaurant where Josef worked as a Chef. He has an older sister Catherine, with whom he spent many a Summer Holiday in Germany where he learned to speak the language fluently. In Killarney he attended the Fossa National School and then St. Brendan's College - a Catholic School for boys. At 17 he discovered his love for acting in a school play, and at 19 he relocated himself to London to study at The Drama Centre where he subsequently dropped out in 1999 and toured instead with the Oxford Stage Company. 

As a budding young Actor, like many before him, he supported himself initially by working jobs such as bartending and delivering the post while auditioning for screen roles. His first screen role came in the acclaimed Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg Co-Production 'Band of Brothers' before going on to 'Hex' for Sky One Television. In late 2003 he starred in a radio serialisation of 'Dracula' and in 2006 starred in a stage production of Quentin Tarantino's 'Reservoir Dogs' which he also Produced and Directed.

His first big screen role came in 2006 in the heavily stylised but lauded fantasy action sword & sandal drama '300' as Directed by Zack Snyder. Next up in 2008 he played the infamous Irish Prisoner on hunger strike, Bobby Sands, in 'Hunger' for Director Steve McQueen - a role for which he slimmed down dramatically on a 600 calorie a day diet. Next up came his role as a British Officer in Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds' in 2009 and then 'Fish Tank' that same year - both well received and applauded for his performances. Less so however, was 'Blood Creek' also in 2009 and Directed by Joel Schumacher.

A comic book adaptation came next in 2010 with 'Jonah Hex' starring Josh Brolin, John Malkovich and Will Arnett and with such a strong cast it should have done better, but it did nothing to ignite the critics or the Box Office. Following this was the war torn bloody Roman era slaughter fest  'Centurion', and then the complete polar opposite alongside Mia Wasikowska in 2011's 'Jane Eyre' adaptation.

Returning to comic book fare but this time with much more success, came 'X-Men : First Class' in 2011 playing the young Magneto of 1962 era. That year he also worked with David Cronenberg playing Dr. Carl Jung in 'A Dangerous Method'. Closing out the year with his second collaboration with Steve McQueen in 'Shame' for which he gained much critical acclaim with nominations from the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, the BAFTA's and more.

In 2012 he worked with Steven Soderbergh on 'Haywire' and then Ridley Scott on 'Prometheus' as android David. The following year he reteamed with Scott on 'The Counselor', and thereafter on his third outing with Steve McQueen on the award winning '12 Years a Slave' which garnered him further critical acclaim and awards nominations.








2014 brought 'Frank' and 'X-Men : Days of Future Past' in which he reprised his role as Magneto, the younger. Next up this year is 'Slow West' with 'Trespass Against Us', 'The Light Between Oceans' and 'Macbeth' currently in post-productions for a later in 2015 release, as is an as yet untitled Terrence Malick production based around the country music scene that has a huge all star cast! He plays too the lead role of Steve Jobs in the Danny Boyle film 'Steve Jobs' currently filming, and then Magneto for a third time in 'X-Men : Apocalypse' and 'Assassins Creed' due for release in 2016, as is the recently announced 'Prometheus 2' which will see him playing the android David once more.

Fassbender has 48 acting credits to his name and four Producer credits. He has 66 award wins and another 68 nominations which all up include the Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards for '12 Years a Slave', two Golden Globe nominations for '12 Years a Slave' and 'Shame' and the BAFTA nomination for '12 Years a Slave' and 'Shame' also.


Michael Fassbender - just 38 years of age, on the big screen for just ten years, but already a solid portfolio of films, much in demand, highly lauded and very watchable - Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-