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X-Men Movie Writer Reveals The Reason Why Patrick Stewart Didn’t Want Professor X Role


It might be hard to imagine 21st Century Fox's X-Men movies without Sir Patrick Stewart, however, the legendary actor nearly passed on the role of Professor X in the very first X-Men movie.

Speaking in an interview with the Observer to talk about the X-Men film franchise, original X-Men movie writer David Hayer revealed that Stewart initially didn't want to play Charles Xavier for Fox. While he had no problem with the premise of the film, it seems like Stewart was concerned about being stuck in a chair for most of his scenes while playing Professor X.

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"Patrick Stewart didn't want to [play Charles Xavier]. It took a long time to convince him," Hayter said when he talked with the entertainment news outlet, "Terence Stamp told me, ‘You know why Patrick doesn't want to do it? Because of the chair. He doesn't want to be stuck in the chair. But I don't mind. In fact, I also look excellent bald.'"

Luckily, X-Men director Bryan Singer and his team were able to convince Stewart to join the cast. The actor has gone on to reprise the iconic role in multiple follow-ups to the original film over the years and according to Stewart, he's enjoyed it.

Now that 21st Century Fox's film and television assets have been acquired by Disney, Marvel is likely to recast all of the X-Men, including Professor X. Marvel has yet to announce its plans for Fox's mutant heroes though, so we'll have to wait and see who nabs the part.

Phase 4 of the MCU begins when Black Widow premieres on November 6, 2020.

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