Michael Fassbender hasn’t yet been nominated for an Oscar, but it’s not for lack of trying. Two years back, the actor was highly praised for his turn in Steve McQueen‘s “Shame,” and the actor got fully engaged in the awards season scrum, resulting in nominations from the Golden Globes, BAFTA, Australian Film Institute and more, but with the British Independent Film Awards giving him his only win. The actor is no less acclaimed this year for his turn as the ugly slave master Edwin Epps in “12 Years A Slave,” but this time out, he’s not going to attend any soireés to court votes.
“I’m going to be busy working,” he tells GQ. “I just don’t really have time.” And that’s certainly true as pre-production has started on “Macbeth,” a new big screen version that’ll feature him opposite Marion Cotillard and directed by Justin Kurzel. That’ll shoot in early 2014, and this fall, Fassbender will busy shooting the western “Slow West.” But when pressed a bit further about important lunches or dinners his presence will be requested at, Fassbender revealed a bit of an exasperation with the song and dance required.
“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 said, adding: “It’s just a grind. And I’m not a politician. I’m an actor.”
Fassbender is certainly not the first actor to complain about the awards season glad-handing, and he won’t be the last. And if you’re wondering about how it may affect whatever chances he has at a nomination, just remember that Joaquin Phoenix dissed the process much more harshly last year, and still wound up with an Oscar nod.
So don’t expect Fassbender to attend any fancy magazine wine tastings, or guild dinners, just appreciate the work he does in “12 Years A Slave” which opens in limited release this Friday.