Michael is one of the rising stars of the film world right now. Fresh from X-Men 2, he will be seen making a cameo role in a remake of the classic Charlotte Bronte novel, Jane Eyre in September and before the year is out he will star in 3 more films to be released this year and 3 more next year.
Born in Heidelberg, Germany on 2nd April 1977 (no birth time known as yet), Michael moved from Germany to Ireland with his German father and Irish mother at the age of two. A progressive Sun sign Aries, Michael has a critical Virgo Moon. Here is a fierce critic, not only of himself but of others. One would imagine he is very much a perfectionist. The overriding need of a Virgo Moon (the Moon shows need in a chart) is to be correct in all that one does. When someone does not come up to Michael’s exacting standards, he would not be shy to tell them so. Mercury is also in Aries so this criticism would be done in a forthright and combative style. I get the feeling that Michael would not be an easy person to work or live with.
There are three planets in Aries, the Sun, Mercury as just mentioned and also Venus and all of these are opposed by Pluto. The Sun opposite Pluto is deep and intense, this is a man who craves personal recognition and he will keep on going until he receives it. Mercury is quindecile Pluto, the quindecile is even more intense than the opposition and Michaels mind will always be probing under the surface, not trusting anyone fully – even being paranoid of other’s motives towards him. it shows a defensiveness in his character which will appear when he is challenged. This mind is perfect for getting under the skin of a character and getting to the root motivations of why someone acts as they do. For the film Hunger, Michael lost copious amounts of weight and literally went on hunger strike in “getting into character” to play Bobby Sands, just to feel what it was like before he played the role. Michael will seemingly go to any length to get the details of the part correct before he plays it.
The last opposition is Pluto opposite Venus which is retrograde. Venus in Aries is normally very straightforward and sociable especially in love and in relationships BUT Venus retrograde makes one insular. Yes, all the passion and deep emotion from the Pluto opposition is there, but it doesn’t come out on the surface in the normal way. Michael in a relationship will be very secretive, reticent even to talk about his affairs of the heart even to those he knows well. No “Hello” or “OK” magazine spreads for Michael for sure…
The Sun/Venus opposition are the driving planets in a creative kite formation, with Saturn and Neptune on the wings. Immediately you see the motivation of the man. A drive for recognition (Sun/Pluto) and to make it to the top of his profession through hard work and ambition (Saturn in Leo) in the creation and film world (Neptune in expansive Sagittarius). Saturn is retrograde, so Michael would have missed the love of his father during his formative years. His father was a restaurant chef, so you can imagine that each evening after he had finished school, he would rarely have seen his father, as he would have been busy in the kitchen.
This is such a creative chart. The Moon squares Neptune so there is a dreamy imagination, although one that can be mislead emotionally. Mars in Pisces also squares Neptune – here is more evidence that Michael would never like to lead a drab boring existence. His imagination is colourful, sensitive, poetic and his energies would be directed into artistic pursuits of some sort. Mars trines Uranus so independent ventures will attract him as well as unusual pieces of work and those with difficult subject matters, as well as action roles like in X-Men. Michael will not be one of those actors ever to be type-cast, switching from one type of role to the next with versatility and ease.
Jupiter in steady Taurus shows that he will work to make sure that he will have a comfortable lifestyle and financially he has his head switched on, Jupiter in Taurus is not one to take risks. Jupiter is quindecile to Neptune (everything on this chart seems to feed into Neptune) so he may have intense faith and/or be vulnerable to excess drug and alcohol use. This is another indication that he will want his creative talents (Neptune) be seen on a world wide stage (Jupiter) – he has said unusually that he prefers film to theatre or live acting which is generally against the grain for most actors, but in this case reinforces the Jupiter angle and influence on his Neptune.
Looking at the transits and progressions of the day for Michael, his Solar Arc North Node is opposing Michael’s natal Jupiter so he is favourably in the public eye and Solar Arc Mars has been conjunct to his Sun and opposing Pluto for the past year, so a period of intense work is now coming to an end. Solar Arc Neptune is trine his natal Moon so emotionally he is going to be very settled right now. There are changes coming for him though. On the transits chart, transiting Saturn will conjunct natal Pluto in around a month’s time. This will light up the natal kite and life will not be so easy, maybe with personal and work problems. Saturn will go on to oppose natal Venus in late September/early October so his relationships (work and personal) will come under deeper scrutiny and pressure. If his current ones are on rocky ground than this may be time for a split or break-up.
