Fassbender 'dives' into sci-fi role

Michael Fassbender has admitted to an unlikely inspiration for his latest role playing a robot in Ridley Scott's Alien prequel - Olympic diver Greg Louganis.

The German-born actor, who plays android David in the sci-fi epic Prometheus, said he was inspired by performances including David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth as well as the Olympian who famously banged his head on the diving board at the 1988 Olympics.

Shame star Michael, who described the character as "childlike", said he based his character's robotic movements on Louganis' "weird walk" that he said "made me laugh".

He also revealed he wanted the android to perform a robot dance in the film but did not suggest it to Ridley.

He joked: "I wanted to have him do a disco dance at the end."

The actor is famous for his dedication to his craft and went on a drastic diet to play IRA prisoner Bobby Sands in Hunger.

Prometheus, which is released on June 1, is the prequel to the 1979 smash Alien which received an X (18) certificate for its extreme violence and the director said he hoped this film would get as wide a viewing as possible.

Ridley said: "When a big film fails it's disastrous for all of us."

He was joined at a press conference in London by some of the film's stars including Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron.

Noomi, who won Ridley over in the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, admits she was panic-stricken when she first met the film-maker to discuss her role as God-fearing scientist Shaw. "I first met Ridley one-and-a-half years ago in LA. I thought I was going to die; I thought I was dreaming," she said.