Michael Fassbender was shot "point blank" when the ’12 Years a Slave’ cast and crew went paintballing.
The 36-year-old actor admits his role as abusive slave master Edwin Epps in the movie so him targetted by his co-stars when they took part in a light-hearted teambuilding exercise.
Speaking on the red carpet at last night’s (16.02.14) BAFTA Awards in London, he said: "We went paintballing, I just remember Chiwetel [Ejiofor] saying my dad said to him ‘cover me’ and went running."
Asked if his role meant he was singled out, he added to E! News: " got it everywhere, it was like I had hickeys all over my head, I got shot point blank. Some people came with their own gear."
The ‘Shame’ star was thrilled with his role in the movie as the story had reduced him to tears, and so he had asked his frequent collaborator, director Steve McQueen for any role in the film, even if it was just "a few days" work.
He said: "I knew when I read it it was such an amazing story, it brought me to tears at the end of the read, it was just an extraordinary story, I’d never even heard of this guy Solomon Northup.
"I didn’t know anything about him or the book so when Steve passed the script on to me, I just wanted to do anything, even if it was just a couple of days work. I knew it was an important piece then."
Because of the serious subject matter, Michael says the set felt very "intense", which was why the cast and crew regularly socialised together, such as the paintballing day.
He added: "On set the intensity was pretty crazy every day because of the responsibility…[So] we hung out as much as we could, had dinners, there was a lot of trust there."
Michael Fassbender targetted during paintball
