Michael Fassbender Credits Urinal Grafitti for Successful Audition

Michael Fassbender relaxes in the tub for the cover of T, The New York Times Style Magazine‘s latest issue.

Here is what the 38-year-old Macbeth actor had to share with the mag:

On how he drew inspiration for a drama school audition: “I went to the urinal, and as I was pissing, I saw that someone had written ‘Hi, Cookie!’ on the wall. Those words were staring at me, as I stood there. I had just finished playing the Cook in a production of ‘Mother Courage,’ and I had done it with a Scottish accent. Cook; cookie. ‘I’ll do the Iago monologue in a Scottish accent,’ I decided, even though that wasn’t how I had prepared it… It’s funny. I haven’t thought about that for years and years. I’m not saying what I saw was a sign or anything. But maybe I did sort of take it that way, and that helped me.”

On how he prepares for a role: “I go over the words again and again and again and again. Hundreds of times. It’s more of a doing than a thinking thing. I have thoughts about the characters, I learn about them, but that’s not necessarily where the majority of the work gets done.”

On being a bartender before an actor: “I enjoyed the bar. But, god, I really, really, really wanted to act.”

For more from Michael, visit NYTimes.com.