Michael Fassbender: ‘I nearly died while listening to Abba and I finally understood them’-Danni Scott-Entertainment – Metro

A terrifying ordeal on a boat during a dangerous storm altered Michael Fassbender’s life — well his music taste at least.

Before his near-death experience, the X-Men star wasn’t a huge Abba fan but that all changed on a trip to Ibiza.

‘I never really liked Abba,’ he revealed to Jimmy Fallon when appearing on The Tonight Show on Tuesday, December 17.

The 47-year-old star continued: ‘And then we were in Ibiza — we were actually in Formentera, and we were getting a boat from Formentera to Ibiza — and we had a late lunch and we were heading back at night and it got really stormy.’

Michael said things were getting ‘bad’, as the group were thrown around in the turbulent sea and had to hold on for dear life.

Returning to land wasn’t an option either as the small dingy they had arrived on was completely deflated.

Michael Fassbender recalled his Abba-filled nightmare (Picture: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)

He wasn’t a fan of the band before the life-threatening moment (Picture: OLLE LINDEBORG/AFP via Getty Images)

‘We’d already taken our little tender boat out to the main boat where we were going to go back to Ibiza, and that started deflating as we were heading out to the boat,’ he revealed. ‘So we just made it back, but that thing sort of sunk and we were laughing about it.’

However, things quickly took a turn as a storm ‘kicked up’, resulting in ‘plates and everything flying’.

Michael continued: ‘We had to lock stuff down, but we had Abba blasting. I was sort of hanging onto the boat and Abba was playing and I finally understood Abba.’

Acting out his ordeal, The Agency star held his hands out and pretended to steady himself through waves, singing: ‘You can dance / You can jive / Having the time of your life.’

‘You’re always safe with Abba, they’re the greatest’ joked host Jimmy after joining in on the impromptu rendition of Dancing Queen.

Michael replied: ‘I was like, “If we have to die tonight, this is a good soundtrack to die to”. Absolutely.’

Jimmy Fallon agreed that nothing bad can happen if Abba is playing (Picture: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)

Michael is married to Swedish actress Alicia Vikander (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

They welcomed their second child earlier this year (Picture: Ian West/PA Media Assignments)

The Alien star’s distaste for Abba can’t have gone down well with his wife Alicia Vikander; a beloved Swedish actress.

In fact, Alicia actually started her career at age seven by performing in Kristina From Duvemala, a musical written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeu.

The pair tied the knot in 2017, after dating for three years having met while starring opposite each other in the Light Between Oceans.

Together the couple have two sons, one born in 2021 and another born earlier this year, who they keep out of the spotlight.

In July 2022, the Danish Girl star also opened up about having a miscarriage in a poignant interview with the Sunday Times, calling the experience ‘extreme’ and ‘painful’.

Michael once told Good Morning America his wife is ‘such a fierce performer.’

He said: ‘She’s so brave. She’s not afraid to bring ugly personality traits to the forefront in characters. So I was really impressed by her immediately.’

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