Christopher Abbott hopes his time in Marvel’s “X-Men” will be better than his prior attempt at a Marvel film with 2024’s disastrous “Kraven the Hunter”.
Appearing on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast while promoting Netflix’s new “East of Eden” adaptation, the actor was asked about his role as Professor Charles Xavier in the upcoming Marvel Studios title.
He confirms that he still hasn’t read the screenplay for the Jake Schreier-directed new film:
“I’m not even being coy, I haven’t read anything. But I’m excited to work with Jake Schreier, I think he’s a great director and that cast is really, really good. I can’t wait, I love the X-Men.”
He adds that he read for the role over Zoom, with material that may not have come from the finished screenplay, before going in for a more extensive test which included costume tests. The scenes themselves were “very human,” and he sees the role as a genuine acting challenge.
It’s certainly better than his time with “Kraven the Hunter” where he played The Foreigner, a character he never really understood:
“I didn’t know what I was doing in that day. I didn’t understand what the power was, what the superpower was. I didn’t know what was going on.”
He said he asked what was supposed to happen when his character removed his glasses, but it seemed nobody could give him much of an answer. He does promise “X-Men” will be better: “I will guarantee you that. At least me.”
