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Los Angeles - Michael Fassbender was told his X-Men: First Class character should be based on Sean Connery.
The 34-year-old actor - who plays Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto in the upcoming superhero movie - explained director Matthew Vaughn initially envisaged his alter-ego to be a "James Bond" type, but he tried not to let it cloud his portrayal of the character.
Spoiled for choice
He said: "In all seriousness. Matthew did say to me that the fact that it was set in the 60s, and this character, Erik, he had envisioned him as a James Bond from the past, perhaps the Sean Connery-type mould.
"I was like, 'That's interesting,' but it didn't really affect my portrayal. I just concentrated on what was in the comic books. The biography available in the comic books was so dense that I was spoiled for choice to go away and create this Machiavellian character."
Despite not trying to directly mimic Sean Connery, Michael admitted he did see portraying the evil supervillain as the perfect opportunity to do a "really elaborate James Bond audition".
He joked to MTV News: "I just saw it as an opportunity to do a really elaborate James Bond audition. I just really exploited that fact really, and one always has to worry about the next job, that's the problem."
