More than a decade ago, it was perfectly acceptable to say “I don’t even own a TV” and expect that statement to be some kind of indicator of your superior cultural sensibilities. Back in the ‘90s and even the early ‘00s, television was a step down, it was the lowest common denominator, it was where actors, writers and directors went when they could no longer do films. But at some point, TV changed. And how we think of television changed too. Maybe it was The Sopranos, maybe it was the rise of comic book movies aimed at tweens and teens. But there has been a cultural shift and it’s no longer a “thing” to sniff your nose at television. But not for Michael Fassbender. You see, because Fassy doesn’t even own a TV. He doesn’t even read the newspaper. He said so in a new interview to promote Slow West overseas. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Riding a horse in Slow West: “First of all, I was introduced to a horse called Awesome, and I wasn’t so awesome on Awesome, so they introduced me to Arnie, who was a lot more chilled and easier to ride. He made up for my lack of riding skill, so it was a lot of fun.”

Whether he gets depressed with the dark subject matter of his films: “I do get depressed, but fortunately it’s for a short time, especially with Steve (McQueen), where you film over short periods of time. It was 25 days for Shame, 35 days for 12 Years A Slave, so you just have to hang in there.”

He doesn’t pay attention to the press: “It’s whatever people write or say, it doesn’t change my day-to-day activities. I’ve kind of stopped reading most press of late, including newspapers, which is kind of weird. I try not to spend too much attention on good or bad (press), because if you live by it, you die by it. I don’t have a television either, the less distraction, the better.”

Why he’s drawn to dark roles: “I’m a complicated person. I think human beings are complex, and I like to play characters that don’t hold answers for the audience. I don’t like to be on any moral crusade. I just want to present them in a provocative way, with all the bells and whistles.”

[From The Belfast Telegraph]

I really don’t understand how someone can go through life without a television these days. I mean… is he just doing everything online? Is he reading news online and watching TV shows online? That’s one possibility. The other possibility is that he just decided to live in a bubble of no newspapers, no news sites, no reading the press about himself and no TV. What does he do for fun? READ A BOOK? Damn, bro.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.