‘Next Goal Wins’ Stars Michael Fassbender and Kaimana on Their Instant Chemistry and the Need For Comedy

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Michael Fassbender is a two-time Academy Award nominee who trained at the Drama Centre London before touring with the Oxford Stage Company; he’s performed Chekov and Shakespeare and worked a veritable who’s who of greatest living directors. Rookie actor Kaimana had never even considered trying to be an actor, noting she avoided school plays “like the plague.” Yet the two form a winning pair in “Next Goal Wins,” the funny, touching, uplifting new film from “Jojo Rabbit” filmmaker Taika Waititi, hitting theaters Nov.

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Based on the 2014 documentary of the same name, “Next Goal Wins” finds Fassbender playing Thomas Rongen, a coach whose anger management and alcohol issues finds him shipped off to American Samoa to lead the national football team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

He is set up to fail — the team is widely regarded as a punchline in the sport. But, fortunately, the team and its tight-knit island community have modest ambitions — they would just like to score one goal.

Kaimana plays their star athlete Jaiyah Saelua, who is fa’afafine, a name the community uses for someone regarded as a third gender, or non-binary. (The real Saelua currently plays for center back for the American Samoa national team.) In addition to being the team’s captain, Jaiyah becomes Rongen’s guide and confidante and it’s a star turn for the new actor, who brings an honesty and charisma that no amount of acting experience can teach.

As with their film characters, Fassbender may have the knowledge and experience of the craft but Kaimana more than holds her own — and together, they are a delight.

It’s the first lead in an all-out comedy for Fassbender, who is known for his dramatic turns in