Over the last few years, we've seen Michael Fassbender in a number of different guises — British agent disguised as a Nazi, Roman warrior, Gothic romantic lead, metal-bending Holocaust-surviving mutant, repressed psychotherapist, rampant sex addict, treacherous secret agent, and Peter O'Toole-ish android. But his next project promises to show him in a guise that we've never seen before from the Irish-German actor.
Because yes, that's Fassbender up above buried under the papier-mache head, alongside co-stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Domhnall Gleeson, in the first look at Lenny Abrahamson's "Frank," which started filming last week. Penned by "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" writer Peter Straughan and journalist Jon Ronson, the script is inspired by Frank Sidebottom, the legendary Mancunian comedian/musician who was never seen without his iconic home-made head, and who passed away in 2010.
Fassbender plays the titular Frank, with Gyllenhaal as sidekick Clara, and Gleeson as lead Jon, an aspiring musician who joins Frank's band. Scoot McNairy is also on board, while Film4 reveals that musicians Clara Azar and Francois Civil have also joined the cast. It promises to be absolutely bonkers, but crucially, the excellent Lenny Abrahamson (the much-praised "What Richard Did," the film that landed up-and-comer Jack Reynor the lead in "Transformers 4") is at the helm, so there should be more than going on than just madness. Filming's underway now, so we should hopefully see "Frank" before the end of the year.