Michael Fassbender Thinks Sir Ian McKellen Disagrees with Magneto Being Labeled as “Evil”

When it comes to Marvel’s vast roster of characters, the X-Men stand out as some of the most iconic and beloved. Representing the theme of embracing differences and fighting for acceptance, the X-Men have resonated with audiences for decades, which explains their lasting popularity and why they remain a frequent topic of discussion.

Among the X-Men, Magneto is one of the most fascinating and well-loved characters. While often labeled as a villain, Magneto’s depth and complexity make it clear that such a simple term doesn’t fully capture his essence.

Magneto has been portrayed by two acclaimed actors, Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender. In a past interview with Collider, conducted during the promotional tour for an earlier X-Men film, Fassbender opened up about the character and shared some intriguing insights, a few of which we’d like to share with you.

This interview took place a while back when Collider spoke with Michael Fassbender during the promotion of X-Men: Apocalypse, the second-to-last installment in Fox’s original X-Men franchise. Fassbender touched on various key topics, discussing the overall franchise, the film itself, and the other characters.

Naturally, he also delved into Magneto, the character he portrayed. One particularly interesting question came up: can Magneto truly be labeled as evil? Here’s what Michael had to say:

Does this feel like Magneto is progressing towards the Ian McKellen version that we saw, basically straight-up evil with his own principals and justifications for that. Do you feel like you’re still on the villain journey or are there still ups and downs?  

FASSBENDER: Well I think Ian McKellen might have a problem with that (laughs). I’ve seen an interview with him speaking about Iago and how he’s an evil character and he’s like, “Evil, I don’t know what to do with that word.” And that’s true, trying to unravel a character, “evil” is just too broad a word and too cloudy a word—how do you access it, and how do you bring that characteristic and display it in a character without being “Mwahahaha!”

Whereas Iago is racist, he’s insecure, he’s got all these other things that are huge things that you can build on. And the same for Magneto, he’s somebody who’s been injured, somebody who’s had all his loved ones taken away from him.

He’s quite singular in his thoughts and yes there’s an element of a megalomaniac in there, and an aspect of a dictator for sure. So I always had those things in mind when I was playing him, so I don’t think it’s any more of a progression towards Ian’s Magneto. I think he was kind of doing the same thing.

Source: Collider

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