Kerry actor casts a spell...

A RIVETING performance by Killarney actor Michael Fassbender enthralled the million viewers who tuned into the first episode Sky One's new supernatural series Hex recently.
The show, which enjoys a primetime Sunday evening slot, has already proved to be a massive hit.

Born and raised in Killarney, Michael is the son of Adele and Josef Fassbender who live in Fossa and own the West End House Restaurant in Killarney.
A past-pupil of St Brendan's College in the town, he is already well known to Irish audiences as the man in the Guinness ad who swims the Atlantic to apologise to his friend.

Billed as Sky's answer to the hugely popular Buffy The Vampire Slayer US TV show, Hex is a six-part series set in a remote English school. It tells the chilling story of a shy student who discovers she is cursed by terrifying links to the past.
The Killarney man plays baddie Azazeal, a type of biblical fallen angel who stalks Cassie, the main character. Speaking to The Kingdom, Michael said he enjoyed working on the new show. "It's entertaining for sure. There are plenty of layers of humour and horror. I did an audition last February and we began filming in March."
For his character's transformation into a demon creature Michael wasn't daunted by the seven hours he spent in the make-up chair. "It is amazing what these people can do. They started with just a picture on a page and ended with brilliant results," he said.
Despite screening on an especially competitive night, a whopping 868,000 viewers watched the first episode of Hex and producers are hoping the series will continue to get good ratings.

While Hex is only beginning, Michael is already a veteran of a number of other productions. "I have finished work on Sherlock Holmes which will be shown on BBC on Stephen's Day and I also worked on a Canadian film telling the story behind the Winnie the Pooh stories. That was great because I worked with these beautiful black bear cubs. There are no plans at the moment but it would be nice if it gets shown over here," Michael added. An extremely busy actor, Fassbender has appeared in numerous television shows, films, ads and theatre productions.

He starred in the Tom Hanks-produced Band of Brothers and played Guy Fawkes in a project called Gunpowder, Treason & Plot for the BBC.
Despite his hectic schedule Michael is looking forward to making it home soon. “I’m planning to get back to Killarney at the end of the month.

"I'm starting work on the James Nesbit show Murphy's Law in November so I will definitely be back before that." Meanwhile, you can see him in action on Sky One on Sunday nights at 9pm.