Oscar Isaac is an incredible performer and movie lovers got to witness his acting range in the Marvel series, Moon Knight. Isaac played a mercenary who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder and hosts the personality of British Museum gift shop employee, Steven Grant, along with his original identity, Marc Spector, and superhero persona, Moon Knight. The Annihilation actor has also been a part of several big-budget movies and franchises, including X-Men, Star Wars, and Dune.
In X-Men: Apocalypse, Isaac took on the role of the titular villain, Apocalypse / En Sabah Nur. This antagonist is an ancient Egyptian mutant, who is resurrected in 1983 and aims to bring about the mass destruction of modern civilization. Isaac’s experience playing Apocalypse was far from enjoyable.
Why Did Oscar Isaac Hate His Role In X-Men: Apocalypse?
Oscar Isaac agreed to star in the 2016 film, primarily to work with some of the big names associated with the movie and franchise. This included actors James McAvoy who played Professor Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender who played Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto, and Jennifer Lawrence who played Raven / Mystique.
However, in a 2018 interview with GQ, Isaac described his experience filming X-Men: Apocalypse as “excruciating”. The Ex Machina actor explained that he was encased in a 40-pound prosthetic suit made of latex and glue. Isaac had to wear a cooling mechanism at all times and even heels inside his boots, both of which made movement difficult.
The worst part was that he rarely got to see or talk with his co-stars because of his suit. Once he finished shooting his scenes, The Force Awakens actor was moved into a cooling tent. Sadly, despite his efforts for the movie made on a budget of $178 million, both his role and the movie received generally negative reviews. Critics considered the movie inferior to its previous installments. The movie managed to gross $543.9 million at the box office.
Oscar Isaac Recalled The Struggle During An Interview For Moon Knight
The Inside Llewyn Davis actor reiterated the issues with his role, in an interview with The New York Times. In the interview, Isaac was discussing his Marvel series, Moon Knight, when the reporter asked about his previous comic book role of Apocalypse. Isaac stated that he didn’t disown the poorly received X-Men movie, but felt that it could have been a much better movie. Isaac told The New York Times:
“There were these amazing actors involved that I really wanted to work with, [James] McAvoy and [Michael] Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence. I collected X-Men growing up, and I loved Apocalypse, I just found him such a freaky, weird character. And then you get there and you’re like, Oh my God, I’ve got all these prosthetics on. I’ve got a suit on. I can’t move. I can’t see anybody. All these actors I wanted to work with — I can’t even see who they are.”
The Drive actor also felt that the filmmakers could have put in a little extra effort to make his character more appealing to the mass audience. At the time of the film’s production, Isaac had described his character to EW as the “creative-slash-destructive force of the Earth” and initially seemed satisfied with the role.
Fans can watch the Moon Knight star’s performance as the supervillain Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse, now available for streaming on Disney+.
Source: The New York Times
