Alongside Jean Luc Picard, Professor X is arguably Sir Patrick Stewart's most iconic role. His return as the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness last year was cause for celebration among fans and we're hoping to see him reprise the role whenever Deadpool 3 finally rolls around.
However, when Stewart was first approached and offered the chance to play the leader of the X-Men in 1997...well, it appears he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. In his new autobiography, Making It So: A Memoir (via Slash Film), Stewart looked back at being cast in the 2000 movie.
"Who on earth is that, Lauren?," Stewart recalled telling X-Men franchise producer Lauren Donner when she suggested he play Charles Xavier. Even after she broke down the character, he was still lost. "This conversation made about as much sense to me as the one I'd had with Steve Dontanville all those years ago in which he asked me why Gene Roddenberry wanted to meet me. Charles Xavier? The X-Men? I hadn't a bloody clue what was going on."
"Lauren patiently explained that X-Men was to be a big-budget film based on a Marvel Comics superhero team. Charles Xavier was the creation of comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby," the actor continued. "He is a telepath and paraplegic who exists in a world where mutants represent the next phase in human evolution, but face discrimination and bigotry because of their superhuman powers."
"He oversees an academy called the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters and a strike force of do-gooder fellow mutants called the X-Men. He is the guy who puts the X in X-Men."
Despite initial concerns the character was too similar to his Star Trek: The Next Generation role, X-Men director Bryan Singer was able to convince Stewart that "there were no major similarities between Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier," resulting in him joining the Marvel Universe.
Since appearing in X-Men, the legendary actor has reprised the role in X2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and Logan (2017).
Back in February, he revealed that he'd been "told to standby" by Marvel Studios, with the prevailing theory being that we'll see him and Sir Ian McKellen (Magneto) in the upcoming Deadpool threequel.
A new Professor X will eventually be cast for the MCU, but following in Stewart's footsteps will be no easy task for any actor.