(Fish Tank, Arnold 2009)

 

Michael Fassbender was already on Hollywood's map when Fish Tank came out in 2009 due to his success in 2008 with Hunger. But Andrea Arnold's film served as a perfect calling card for how simultaneously charming and frighteningly intense he could be. Later in the year, he'd turn in an unfortunately brief but humorous appearance in Inglorious Bastards.

After Fish Tank and Inglorious Bastards in 2009, Fassbender's career instantly exploded. His 2010 efforts in Centurion and Jonah Hex were likely filmed beforehand, but starting in 2011 he was in everything, from big-budget Hollywood films like Prometheus and X-Men, to roles for A-list directors like David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method) and Ridley Scott (The Counselor), to his collaborations with Steve McQueen such as 12 Years A Slave.

(X-men)