After working together on two short films, Man on a Motorcycle and Pitch Black Heist, John Maclean wrote a role for Michael Fassbender in his first feature, Slow West. Kodi Smit-McPhee leads as Jay Cavendish, a young man from Scotland who travels to Colorado to find the woman he loves. Trouble is, the American frontier is a bit more dangerous than Jay expected and that’s where Fassbender’s character steps in. He plays Silas, the mysterious stranger paid to protect Jay as he makes his way through the Wild West.

With Slow West hitting VOD and select theaters on May 15th, I got the chance to sit down with Fassbender to discuss how the film came to be. He recalls meeting Maclean and how their short films lead to Maclean’s first feature, reveals a little trick he learned about surviving on the American frontier and also addresses the rumor that he may direct his own feature soon. You can catch it all in the video interview below.


Michael Fassbender:

  • On making short films and then a feature with John Maclean.
  • What he learned about surviving on the American frontier while making this movie.
  • What does the title Slow West mean?
  • Is Fassbender directing his own feature soon?

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Image via A24 Films