Fassbender's portrayal of sex addict tops 'Barely Legal' poll

Michael Fassbender’s graphic portrayal of a tortured sex addict in the hit movie Shame, has been voted one of the top “nearly pornographic mainstream film” performances of all time.

The 36-year-old Kerry actor won plaudits for his lead role in the dark 2011 drama in which he played a broken soul, whose character is seen constantly having sex, visiting prostitutes, and masturbating when his sexual conquests fail to satisfy him.

The movie, directed by Steve McQueen — who more recently teamed up with Fassbender in the double Oscar-winning epic, 12 Years a Slave — was acclaimed for its serious observation of the widely misunderstood problem of sex addiction.