Although he prefers not to talk about it, reports have confirmed that Michael Fassbender married his girlfriend Alicia Vikander last weekend in Ibiza. Meanwhile, the actor's new film is in cinemas facing some rather mixed reviews, which has been a surprise for a film directed by Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and produced by Martin Scorsese.

The Snowman is in theatres nowThe Snowman is in theatres now

In The Snowman, Fassbender plays detective Harry Hole, who features in 11 novels by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo. To prepare for the role, Fassbender read all of the books, except The Snowman. "I chose not to read it," he explains, "just because I only wanted to get a sense of who Harry was up until that point. I love the books! They're easy to read but not disposable, there are lots of layers and depths and complexities, lots of research. These are books that are really intelligently woven together, so reading them one after another has not only been great fun but has made me really understand this character so much better."

The actor says he was drawn to the role because he has never played a detective before. "It's a genre that I wanted to do," he says. "Then reading the books, I just really like the character. I love the fact that he's not an action hero. When he goes into a scuffle, he usually comes out the worse for wear. And the drinking thing is just him self-medicating. I think he hates his job. But he's brilliant at it, and he can't step away from it."

Watch the trailer for 'The Snowman' here:

The big challenge was shooting the film in the Norwegian winter without wearing a huge winter coat. "You know, it's funny because Tomas talked about not putting on the jacket," Fassbender laughs. "He said he was on a bus trip one time and the bus driver stood outside the bus having a cigarette in short sleeves. That non-awareness of the cold that that guy seemed to have, he wanted to incorporate that into Harry as well. It's a very dry cold there, so it was quite refreshing, invigorating. The air was so clean. Before I went out there, I was thinking, 'Ugh, it's going to be brutal!' But it wasn't that bad."

More: Read our review of 'The Snowman'

So the obvious question is what he'll do next. He has yet to make a rom-com, for example. "I haven't really thought about it that much," Fassbender laughs. "If a script is good and it interests me, then I'll do it. I think there's always been a market for romantic comedies."