With his face crossed out with paint strokes, piercing blue-green eyes, Michael Fassbender stands out the crowd, even more so with this feverish torment of the great battles of "Macbeth", filmed by Justin Kurzel under the glowing of Scottish skies and a crashing noise. The tragic story of the Scottish general devoured by ambition and his royal destiny is filmed here as an epic drama with bloody slow-mo and impressive special effects. This is a fragile monster that is in the grip of hallucinations on the one hand, and of his wife, on the other hand, played by Marion Cotillard, with density that pushes him to become a king. The madness can be read on the face of Michael to the point when we watch the end of the movie when his mind is actually invaded by the scorpions! Nothing of this all can be seen on the day of interview at the last day of Cannes Film Festival, when he drinks water while bursting with laughter. Michael Fassbender has put away the weapons, and he, the one who never reads reviews or looks at the trailers before going to cinema, responds kindly to our questions because he’s sure that none of its responses will be a spoiler. "Besides, he said to me, do you know that "Macbeth" is still being played every four hours in the world? "

Elle: What is the personal vision of Macbeth Justin Kurzel showed you?
Michael: It got me very quickly that he has this idea of playing Macbeth as a man wounded, shocked, traumatized after all the battles that he’s been into, and with this conflict in terms of thinking of the horrors of the First world War. It’s a question of flesh and blood, the extreme violence, the bodies of the guys who rushed to kill each other. It was necessary to pierce the flesh and break the bones. The war is really scary, it hurts, and here it’s been shown.

Elle: The reference has been made to post-traumatic shock?
Michael: Yes, I had never thought of that before but, for Justin, Macbeth is a man who is in a psychological state very close to that of the soldiers who are now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. And this is clear to me. Besides, I've met a few during my preparation period and all have spoken to me of the hallucinations that they had down there and about paranoia, and it’s also made clear the visions of Macbeth in the film. One of them described to me the feeling that he was being attacked when he was walking, it was terrifying as it was real. They live constantly in a kind of awe.

Elle: Is this the first time you play this part?
Michael: Yes, apart from the one I played in my Drama School... And it’s very impressive because I had to go into the distinguished shoes of my predecessors. I learned my text which is the original verse in the movie and I did put it in my head by repeating it for four weeks. I needed to work on the elasticity of incredible Shakespeare’s language before we go filming! What counts a lot in the drama, it is the rhythm of the language.

Elle: This is also the first time that you’ve worked alongside Marion Cotillard?
Michael: Yes and it’s amazing! She is a great actress who has an ability of playing as her organic trait. We had a great deal of discussion during rehearsals, but once we did get on set, we said nothing. We didn’t talk about the scene to come, we went inside instinctively. I’m an actor from a lot more animal feeling than intellectual. And Marion, she gives it too, and it also catches the first shot. She is both fragile and unbreakable. When Marion looks at you, read it in her eyes, do not bother looking elsewhere. The explanation is there in front of you, on her face. Without adding anything else, she was able to bring a very great sense of loneliness to the character. It’s an actress very intuitive and very brave. Imagine how difficult it was for her to play in the language of Shakespeare?

Elle: In fact, the unbounded ambition of the characters is based on an intimate drama...
Michael: Yes, all that Lady Macbeth wants is to save this couple, who drift past the mourning on the death of their child. And, behind the monster that she embodies, she remains all the time a mother who wants to put her marriage on the rails and keep her husband with her. She doesn't want to lose him. Moreover, it is with this weapon she’s going to convince him to eliminate Duncan. Because it's always cut off heads needed to gain power, right? Macbeth is a soldier, a broken man consumed by violence who has his weaknesses, it is the story of ambition. It’s always amazing how the text, written four centuries ago continue to have resonance in the world today. "Macbeth ", Justin Kurzel, also with Marion Cotillard, David Thewlis.