One to watch: The Graham Norton Show - BBC One, 10.35pm

During a Press launch for 2012 epic Prometheus, journalists hung on his every word, fascinated as he answered questions on the 13-minute 3D preview they’d just experienced.

Alas, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic, like his follow-up The Counsellor released a few months ago, turned out to be a massive let down for one of the writers present that day.

Though the respective scripts may not have been up to much, Fassbender managed to steal both movies from under his co-stars’ noses.

Given his undoubted allure, there’s little wonder A-list directors like Quentin Tarantino and David Cronenberg have been desperate to work with him over the years.

Born in Heidelberg, Germany in 1977, to an Irish mother and German father, Michael Fassbender and his family moved to County Kerry when he was two-years-old.

He caught the acting bug at 17, and two years later moved to London to study drama.

Michael honed his craft on Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ epic mini-series Band of Brothers in 2001. He later caught the eye of Zack Snyder who cast him in his swords-and-sandals blockbuster 300, and Fassbender also won kudos for arthouse drama Fish Tank.

However, he really made critics sit up and take notice as hunger striker Bobby Sands in director Steve McQueen’s critically acclaimed 2008 drama Hunger.

They reunited for the no-holds barred sex addict study Shame, and their latest collaboration, 12 Years a Slave, looks like a strong contender for Oscars and Baftas galore this year.

Michael will be plugging that movie in this week’s show, and with a bit of luck will also be discussing his upcoming X-Men sequel, Days of Future Past.

As the younger Magneto, Fassbender was one of the best things about 2011’s X-Men: First Class, and proved to Hollywood’s top brass he could help carry a multi-million dollar movie.

Days of Future Past should be one of the biggest hits of the year when it’s released in May, while many fans can’t wait to see what Fassbender does with the movie Frank, inspired by cult comic creation Frank Sidebottom. His long awaited big screen version of video game hit Assassin’s Creed and a Prometheus sequel are also in the pipeline.

Lena Dunham might not be as high profile as her fellow guest, but thanks to hit comedy drama Girls, she has attracted plenty of kudos in the media industry.

The 27-year-old New Yorker has been making films for the past few years, winning acclaim and the odd award for her arthouse 2010 film Tiny Furniture.

Anchorman producer Judd Apatow was clearly impressed with her work, and aside from greenlighting the aforementioned Girls, he also cast her in his 2012 movie, This is 40.

She’ll be plugging Girls in this week’s show.

Plus, the red chair will be in place again, and unless the people who choose to tell a tale tell a good ‘un they will be subjected to an undignified exit.