Hollywood star Patrick Stewart famously portrayed Professor X in the original X-Men franchise alongside a stellar ensemble cast. However, when the 2011 film First Class rebooted the series as a prequel, a fresh cast was introduced, with James McAvoy stepping into the role of Charles Xavier. And the now-83-year-old actor graciously supported McAvoy taking on the role of Professor X.
While he was more than pleased to see McAvoy embodying the younger version of his character, there were moments when Stewart admitted to feeling a bit unsettled by the sight of the 44-year-old actor inhabiting the iconic role he had portrayed for years.
Patrick Stewart Felt Uneasy With James McAvoy Embodying Professor X
During an appearance on Good Morning America, Patrick Stewart reflected on the Glass star taking on the role of Professor Charles Xavier. And he shared that he was flattered to have McAvoy portraying the younger version of himself.
“I never looked this good,” he said, playfully suggesting, “So I thought maybe people would remember me that I looked like James McAvoy.” However, alongside the joy, Stewart admitted feeling a bit unnerved by the resemblance between McAvoy’s depiction of Professor X and his own appearance.
He said,
“In this movie, there were moments when I saw clearly Professor Xavier in James, but there were even creepier moments when I saw Patrick Stewart, especially in profile, in James’ profile.”
The Macbeth star feeling this way seemed reasonable as James McAvoy admired Stewart and shared that he meticulously watched all of Stewart’s work, even going back to his earliest performances available on YouTube.
“I watched everything that Patrick has ever done, starting with the earliest things I can find on YouTube,” he told the show host. The dedication extended to McAvoy even shaving his head to see how it looked on him, though he later had to endure hours of hair extensions for the role.
James McAvoy Shaved His Head For X-Men: First Class
Since the 2000 film, Patrick Stewart has consistently portrayed Professor X in the X-Men franchise, with his rendition of the character featuring a bald head, a trait consistent with the comics, where Charles Xavier is depicted as completely bald due to his mutation.
James McAvoy, who first portrayed the role in X-Men: First Class, also shaved his head for the 2011 film out of curiosity about his appearance. Despite finding it quite appealing, he was later notified that his character was supposed to have long hair.
“I had showed up on the first day of X-Men: First Class, and I had shaved my head because I wanted to check what it looked like about a month before we started shooting — and it looked quite good — and they were like, ‘No, no, no, no, we want you to have long hair.'”
He shared that it led to a 15-hour process of getting hair extensions for First Class. The ordeal persisted when he reprised his role in the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past. “I’m all about the hair extensions,” he said, revealing that he would spend “18 hours in a straight run” to get the hair extensions.
X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past are available to stream on Disney+.
