Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender has said that he knew Kneecap were "readymade superstars" when he worked alongside them on the band's titular music biopic.
The Belfast rap trio, consisting of Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Caireallain), Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) and DJ Próvaí (J.J. Ó Dochartaigh), released their fictionalised origin story from writer/director Rich Peppiatt in 2024 to huge acclaim.
Scéal the heights: Kneecap's origin movie is an against-the-odds triumph
The film had its world premiere at the iconic Sundance Film Festival in January last year, where it won the Audience Award, before being nominated for six Baftas, with Peppiatt picking up the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer gong. It was also selected as the Irish entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
In the film, Fassbender plays Arlo, Móglaí Bap's father, alongside the Belfast rap trio making their acting debuts as themselves.
When speaking to RTÉ Entertainment over Zoom from New York about his new film, Steven Soderbergh's stylish spy thriller Black Bag, Fassbender said he had a feeling the band were going to be huge when he worked with them, but that he couldn't have anticipated the film's runaway success.
When asked if he knew the film would take off the way it did, Fassbender replied: "Well, the guys I just thought, wow, they're just readymade superstars. They're just so good. So I felt that there was a sort of infectious, electric energy about them.
"They’re genuine, and people respond to that. So I had a feeling, you know, they were going to be big."
He continued: "And you know, you hope that the film's gonna do the same, but obviously the response that it's had is pretty incredible in terms of every demographic.
"My parents love it, younger people love it - through the age groups, everyone seems to just really enjoy the film.
"Rich [Peppiatt] did a great job directing it and writing the script and working with the boys closely. Their energy is just so infectious."
Black Bag is out in cinemas now.
