Killarney actor lands major role in major new BBC television drama...

A talented Killarney actor has one of the leading role in a major new drama series being screened by the BBC.

Michael Fassbender stars as the devious Guy Fawkes in a high-profile two-part serialisation on the lives and times of Mary Queen of Scots and her son, James I.

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot, which commenced on BBC 2 on Sunday night, was scripted by award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern and directed by Gillies MacKinnon and Fassbender was quickly snatched up for one of the principal roles.

The Killarney actor stars alongside Robert Carlyle, Clémence Poesy, Kevin McKidd and Paul Nicholls for the series which was filmed entirely on location in Romania.

Michael is already be a familiar face on the small screen through his involvement in the Stephen Spielberg blockbuster drama Band of Brothers and, more recently, he was the star of the new Guinness advertisement which depicted him swimming from Ireland to America to apologise to a friend following a quarrel.

Fassbender, whose parents run the West End Restaurant in Killarney, Michael's new role sees him plotting against King James I and devising a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament to rid the nation of an oppressive Protestant monarch.

Executive prodicer Robert Cooper said Gunpowder, Treason and Plot is a signature drama from one of Britain’s most accomplished television writers who has previously brought us dramas like Sunday, Hillsborough, Priest and Cracker. "Gunpowder, Treason and Plot" is a personal vision, a dramatic interpretation of history," he added.