Taika Waititi has revealed Michael Fassbender’s role in Next Goal Wins became more comedic than planned because the actor “kept delivering” the laughs.

In the sports comedy, Fassbender plays Dutch-American soccer coach Thomas Rongen, who is tasked with changing the fortunes of the American Samoa national team, considered one of the worst squads in the world.

During an interview on the SmartLess podcast, Waititi revealed that the X-Men: First Class actor wasn’t initially supposed to be so funny.

“He’s someone who can improvise, he’s very good,” he shared. “I didn’t think his role would become as comedic (as it is), I thought everyone around him would provide the comedy, but he was kept delivering and I just gave him more things to do.”

Fassbender, who is best known for his serious dramatic roles, admitted on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he has always enjoyed comedy and was thrilled to get the opportunity to flex that muscle with Waititi.

“I’ve always liked comedy, in fact, when I first started acting when I was 17, I started with comedy sketches,” he explained. “It’s obviously a challenge to do it right, to be funny, and Taika’s obviously a master, and it was just the opportunity to work with him. For sure, it was challenging, it’s a lot of improvisation, so you’ve just got to go for it and be prepared to fall flat on your face and get up and try again.”

Next Goal Wins will be released in U.K. cinemas on 26 December.

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