James McAvoy Speaks on His Take as Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class!

James McAvoy Speaks on His Take as Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class!

Scottish actor James McAvoy, 'Charles Xavier' of FOX's X-Men: First Class, discusses his take on the character, and different traits & story arcs in a recent Q&A interview. Check it Out

By DCMarvelFreshman - Jan 21, 2011 06:01 PM EST
Filed Under: X-Men
Source: Screen Rant



What if anything did you take from Patrick Stewart’s portrayal?
I’ll tell you what I did take – I looked at all of the things that he did the hardest. I looked at all of the things that came out the strongest in his performance and we said we have to go the opposite way. Simply to validate why we were making this film, because if they were just the same there would be no reason to make it, we have to show how different he is. We have to show a journey – so he clearly has to start in a different place. So the main things that we looked into are the fact that he is ego-less, selfless, a very good person, he’s sexless – he’s sort of like a monk. We thought of what the opposite of all of those things would be – so now he drinks a lot, chases women quite a lot, and doesn’t mind sort of abusing his power to get ahead. He’s definitely got an ego, and he’s definitely a little bit selfish. So that’s where we start with him, and so he’s now got to grow towards –Sir Patrick.

So it’s the experiences of this film that make him who he is as a character ultimately?
Yes.

Visit ScreenRant.com for the entire interview.

With visual promotion getting heavy, currently in post-production while filming, FOX has their feet planted for a June 3 release for X-Men: First Class, almost four months away.
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toilntrouble
toilntrouble - 1/21/2011, 6:31 PM
lol, I just posted a completely different interview from McAvoy http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/NotaComicfan/news/?a=28534
skullgmo44
skullgmo44 - 1/21/2011, 6:55 PM
Who needs to read minds when you can curve bullets?
patriautism
patriautism - 1/21/2011, 6:56 PM
I think he and Fassbender will own this movie.
P862010
P862010 - 1/21/2011, 7:04 PM
i agree him and fassbender are some of the best actors working today
Vital
Vital - 1/21/2011, 7:17 PM
Hopefully they will fight in the shade lol
SKGannbit
SKGannbit - 1/21/2011, 7:19 PM
i'm still waiting for news that will get me excited for this movie... but i don't think i'll ever see/read it.
Vital
Vital - 1/21/2011, 7:20 PM
They completely changed Xavier. Great.
therhymeking
therhymeking - 1/21/2011, 8:35 PM
movie sounds like it might be ok but i hate mcavoy as professer x....he looks like a lil kid...and not the same age as magneto 4 sure.....i hate his face
Craven
Craven - 1/21/2011, 8:57 PM
I really don't know how they're gonna make this work without calling it a reboot...without the Scott Summers/ Bobby Drake story-line...this is not first class to me...they should change the name of it...
juggy4711
juggy4711 - 1/21/2011, 10:35 PM
I understand this from a story perspective but the opposite of Chuck? I hope there is some hint of Xavier in there somewhere.
akthunder
akthunder - 1/21/2011, 11:36 PM
I am looking forward to his take on Prof. X
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 1/22/2011, 2:23 AM
LANS @ Should have guessed you'd like Fist A$$ ... warning sign right there! : P

jk lol
arivin923
arivin923 - 1/22/2011, 6:41 AM
That's actually not that far off from how Xavier has been portrayed as a younger man (in certain versions of course, as things change depending on the writer). He didn't always shy away from combat (he fought in Korea), and he wasn't always as responsible as he ended up becoming. For god's sake, he sent a poorely trained team into Krakoa in the hopes of recovering the kids he'd already lost. And then when they didn't make it out, he *lied* (by omission) to the original team, never telling them that he'd sacrificed these kids to get them out, including Scott's brother [X-Men: Deadly Genesis].

In the last few years, the comics have spent a lot of time tearing down the Xavier we thought we knew, showing that he wasn't always such a saint. [See: X-Men: Sins of the Father, Deadly Genesis, etc]
arivin923
arivin923 - 1/22/2011, 6:42 AM
And I agree, he makes a fine Xavier. If someone were to photoshop him bald, he'd look just like Patrick Stewart!

Guys, you have to remember, as with ANY adaption movie, there will be changes. Chill out, and enjoy.
Minato
Minato - 1/22/2011, 8:41 AM
Fist a$$ is not going to dissapoint my initial feelings toward it. Why make Xavier into someone he never was in order to find a way for the charictor to progress. Patrick Steward already showed flaws in his morality with the Phenox debacle.

Why is Alex Summers in this when hes Scotts younger brother and this is the 60s. I still cant get my head around that one.

Mistique is a original member with Magneto? they both have the Blue and Yellow

If they tried to start over to Fix the continuity they FAILed horribly
ScreenRant
ScreenRant - 1/22/2011, 9:23 AM
"The folks at Screen Rant managed to score an interview..."

So we thought we would just copy and paste the ENTIRE thing right here so you wouldn't have to head over there to read it.

Thanks,

Vic
JackBauer
JackBauer - 1/22/2011, 9:31 AM
Why do they keep referring to Prof. X as "sexless". He wasn't getting any in the films, but no one else was either except, Scott and Jean, as far as we know. If they would have bothered to read the comics they would know that he had a number of different women over the years including Moira and Lilandra.
flames809
flames809 - 1/22/2011, 6:15 PM
arivin- agreed
Vital
Vital - 1/23/2011, 12:55 AM
Aww ScreenRant is upset they aren't getting super-kudos for the scoop. He named you, so we know where it came from, why do we need to go over there? We can't comment there. Don't be a poor sport. It's not like the news belongs to you anyway. It's news. I think it was more of a waste of your time to come over here to post on it than just to let it be, cause no one cares man. I'm the only person who saw your comment and replied to it.
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