The 34-year-old actor – who plays a character addicted to raunchy online clips in new movie 'Shame' – finds it "interesting" how the problem is so prevalent in the US, but sex addiction has never been officially recognised as an illness.
 
He said: "I definitely explored the realm of it. People can stay inside for 72 hours on end watching it. They can't have sex with their wives because they're so obsessed with it.
 
"What's really interesting about it is that in the US alone, something like 24 million people claim to be sex addicts but the mental-health board hasn't recognised it as an addiction."
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While Michael admits the role isn't one of his most glamorous, he was attracted to the project because the problems faced by those addicted to internet pornography are "very relevant " to the modern age.
 
He added: "It's very relevant to our time. Everything is immediate these days. If you want something, turn on a computer and you've got it. If you want to go somewhere, you can jump on a plane and be there.
 
"It’s all too easy to go somewhere, to eat something, to drink something, to f**k someone. It's all so easily available."