Michael Fassbender admits that playing a sex addict was an extremely "tough job."

Michael stars alongside Carey Mulligan in erotic drama Shame.

Portraying his character, wild sex addict Brandon Sullivan, was difficult at times for the star.

"This was a tougher job than 2008 film Hunger," Michael told USA Today.

"Shame was done in a very concentrated time and I was coming off four other films. I was pretty tired at that point. Mentally it was more taxing, to be honest. I remember one day in particular. Sitting in my trailer, thinking, 'Oh my God, I better take a break.'"

The sex scenes in film are intense. Filming the erotic lovemaking sessions required all parties involved to loosen up a little.

"Yeah, we did a couple shots of tequila," Michael recalled.

"It's no big deal. You take a couple shots and then, 'Let's get on with it.' I met [burlesque dancers] Calamity and DeeDee that night [we shot the threesome scene], so you've got to get to know each other pretty quickly. You knock back a couple and, you know, get groovy."

Michael has three new films coming out in 2012.

He feels grateful that he is able to play such a variety of characters.

"I don't know. I've been lucky. This is what I dreamed of when I started at 17," Michael explained.

"All my heroes like John Cazale, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Brando - there was an element of the character actor in these guys. That was the benchmark for me."