’X-Men’ Star Christopher Abbott Admits His Big Professor X Reveal Felt Like a Waking Nightmare

Stepping into Marvel’s mutant universe is supposed to be a career-defining high, but Christopher Abbott’s Professor X casting came with an unexpectedly awkward twist. Marvel Studios held back on any X-Men announcements at Comic-Con, and once Sadie Sink was confirmed as Jean Grey, the floodgates opened for more mutant casting at D23.

For the actor chosen to lead the new team, however, the spotlight moment didn’t land quite the way he pictured it. Abbott was confirmed as Charles Xavier during Marvel Studios’ D23 presentation on Friday, August 14.

Kevin Feige and director Jake Schreier were joined onstage by Sink, and Marvel then introduced Kit Connor as Cyclops, Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, and Maya Boyd as Storm. Adam Driver appeared in a recorded video message to reveal that he’s playing the villain Mister Sinister.

Now, weeks after the event, Abbott is getting candid about how that walk onto the stage actually felt. He opened up about the moment in a new interview conducted in a robe at the Russian and Turkish Baths in New York City for the magazine’s first Men’s Style Issue.

Speaking to New York Magazine, the actor explained that his confidence shifted almost instantly: “I think I started walking out pretty enthusiastically, and then I kind of felt like a lot of people there didn’t know who I was, so then my energy shifted within the split second.”

That realization changed his whole approach in real time. “I almost did a fist pump when I walked out, and then I felt like the applause was muted,” Abbott said, adding that he decided he was “just going to walk out and nod.”

His summary of the experience is refreshingly honest for a new superhero lead. “It feels almost like a video game, or a dream. Not like a good dream. It’s a bit of both — a bit of a dream and a nightmare,” he admitted.

The pressure attached to the role is easy to understand. Abbott, who landed the part over Tom Pelphrey, follows Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy in the role. Heading into D23 in Anaheim, Abbott, Pelphrey, and Bill Skarsgård had all been named as frontrunners for the part. Adding to the weight, Stewart is set to return as Professor X in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, while Abbott will lead Marvel’s new generation of mutants.

Some critics are already offering the actor a reassuring perspective. The A.V. Club suggested Abbott should look to Hugh Jackman’s career for comfort, noting that few people knew who the Australian actor was when he was cast as Wolverine, and he has since become a global superstar across 11 films in the role. The outlet also expressed hope that fans will eventually embrace the veteran indie actor as a worthy successor to Stewart and McAvoy.

It’s not Abbott’s first brush with comic book material either. He previously appeared in Sony’s Marvel film ‘Kraven the Hunter’, where he played the Foreigner. Still, the new Marvel film will mark one of his biggest commercial roles to date.

Audiences won’t have to wait long to see the actor in action. Before the Marvel film arrives, Abbott will next appear in Netflix’s ‘East of Eden’ miniseries alongside Florence Pugh and Mike Faist, premiering on Thursday, October 1. Faist and Abbott, who play brothers in the series, also shared the sauna bench for the New York Magazine shoot.

As for the mutant reboot itself, the film will relaunch the superhero team following ‘Dark Phoenix’, which starred McAvoy as Professor X alongside Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult. Marvel has yet to reveal who will play Magneto, Beast, Wolverine, or several other mutants closely associated with the team.

Feige said on stage that more names will be confirmed in time. The new ‘X-Men’ is scheduled for release on May 5. If Jackman’s journey is any indication, a quiet round of applause today could easily turn into a standing ovation once audiences see Abbott in the role.

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