Michael Fassbender says working with child actors is 'magical'

Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender met on the set of The Light Between Oceans

"Never work with animals or children" is something of an acting mantra - but it is not one to which Michael Fassbender subscribes.

"Children's commitment to the imagination - it's intoxicating," said the actor, who worked with twins on new film The Light Between Oceans.

"They've got so much freedom, and it's actually quite hard to keep up with them and to be quick-witted."

The Light Between Oceans, based on the book by ML Stedman, is set just after World War One.

It tells the story of soldier Tom Sherborne - played by Fassbender - and his life as a lighthouse keeper on a rural island off the coast of Western Australia.

The film chronicles the events after a boat that holds a dead body and a baby washes ashore.

'Hero from bygone era'

X-Men and Macbeth star Fassbender, speaking at a press conference alongside co-star and girlfriend Alicia Vikander, who he met on the set, said: "I've always found that with children, when they have to adhere to the script, they can sometimes tense up or freeze, or be quite rigid.

"But they're magical and [...] there's not a stream of consciousness, it just comes flowing out of them."

He added: "I've always found you can learn a lot from working with kids. That's the magic element - just the enjoyment of creating an imaginary world."

Asked if it made him broody at all, he replied: "I like kids."

Alicia Vikander says she was impressed by the "energy" of her character

Fassbender said he took to Tom immediately, as a "great man" he aspired to be like.

"He's like a hero to me, he's a man from a bygone era, and they don't make them like that anymore.

"He's a quiet man who doesn't vocalise what he's feeling, yet there's a huge dignity to him."

'Not a simple person'

Vikander stars as Isabel Graysmark, Tom's wife, with the film also featuring Rachel Weisz and Australian actor Jack Thompson.

Vikander said of her character: "I was impressed by her energy and force.

"In the book, you end up feeling for her - but I also remember reading the book and going online and people were having discussions, they had different opinions about her.

"I wanted that to still be there - that she wasn't a simple person, that she had all these different elements, and she had those sides to her."

Michael Fassbender took to his character Tom Sherborne early on

Director Derek Cianfrance, known for The Place beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine, had nothing but good words to say about the actors, who met on set in 2014.

"They kept raising this bar for each other on set, and it was so wonderful to watch these great performers pushing each other," he said. "I didn't have to do much pushing, because they were doing it for each other."

Cianfrance also revealed the complex process he went through to find the perfect location that would double as Janus Rock, the secluded lighthouse island that Tom and Isabel live on and maintain in the film.

"I spent like six months trying to find the perfect place," he said. "We were going to shoot in Australia, but then Pirates of the Caribbean came into town and they took all of the tax credits.

"We had to go and find another spot, and we looked in New Zealand, which is such a gorgeous country - it's further south, and the light is really beautiful there."

Director Derek Cianfrance spent six months looking for an island to double as Janus Rock

Vikander spoke fondly about her time on location - which saw the cast and crew more than 100 miles away from the nearest town.

"Every morning and every evening, I saw a new sunset and a new sunrise," she said.

"To experience all that nature - I've never felt so small."

The Light Between Oceans is out in the UK on 1 November.