Alien: Covenant premiere: Michael Fassbender drops F-bomb as he joins Katherine Waterston

The actor let slip the expletive as he recalled learning to play the recorder
1/14
Emma Powell5 May 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Michael Fassbender accidentally dropped an F-bomb as he worked the green carpet for the premiere of his latest film, Alien: Covenant.

The actor, 40, let slip the expletive as he recalled his struggle to learn to play the recorder for his role in the next Ridley Scott instalment.

Speaking to Edith Bowman in London’s Leicester Square he said: “I was practising that damn flute, a whistle or whatever you want to call it. It makes an awful sound.

“I had two teachers and I was practising this thing and I could hear the neighbours going ‘I hate it when people learn instruments it’s f****** infuriating’.” He quickly added “sorry” before continuing: “So I had to put tissues in the air holes.”

'Sorry': Michael Fassbender accidentally drops an expletive
Facebook/ Alien Covenant

Fassbender was joined by his co-stars Katherine Waterston and Danny McBride who both opened up about the challenges they faced on set.

Waterston said she hated her onscreen running, while McBride said he came to realise that he suffers from claustrophobia.

Leading roles: Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston (Ian West/PA )
Ian West/PA

“Paul Thomas Anderson kept sending me e-mails going ‘the girl in the new Star Wars movie is running really well – don’t screw this up’,” Waterston said. “He was haunting me so I was really paranoid about it. I feel like I look like a fraggle. It’s scary to be chased especially when you’re in a space suit that has magnets sticking you to the floor.”

Good pals? Noel Gallagher and Michael Fassbender hang out at the afterparty
Dave Benett

Speaking about his struggles on set McBride said: “I learned quickly that I’m claustrophobic, especially when putting on helmets. So I learned how to take deep breaths.”

Director Ridley Scott was also in attendance and spoke about his love for the horror genre – and warned filmgoers that the movie may leave them unable to sleep.

He said: “I like making people laugh, but scaring people when it really works is fun. People here will get a very stressful evening and a sleepless night.”

Speaking about why he chose Waterston for the leading role he said: “She’s very tall, very smart, very beautiful, and a great actress. What else could you want?”

The film follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant which is bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy. The team discover what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dangerous world. They are forced to attempt a harrowing escape after uncovering an unimaginable threat.

Other stars in attendance at Thursday night’s premiere included Nathaniel Dean, Tess Haubrich, Keith Lemon, Kenneth Branagh, Brian Cox, Billy Crudup and Dakota Blue Richards.

Alien: Covenant is slated for UK cinema release on May 12.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in