The X-Men movie series follows the lives of mutants who all possess the X-gene that gives them their own unique powers. Thanks to the help of Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, the mutants unite at his school and learn to control their abilities and to only use their powers for good. On the other end of things, you have the villains led by Magneto, who wish to rid the world of humans so that mutants can live freely without restriction or prosecution. The franchise began with the first X-Men film in 2000 and has spawned a number of sequels and spinoffs.
Update August 19, 2023: This article has been updated to include even more stars who turned down or were considered for parts in the X-Men franchise.
Thanks to Marvel's Stan Lee, the X-Men is a franchise with a great number of characters to choose from. With this comes the challenge of casting the mutants properly in each film installment. While some characters have only had one actor, like Wolverine, others have had a number of iterations, like the old and young Professor X portrayed by Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy, respectively. As such, there are a number of actors who were once considered for the roles of the mutants. Indeed, here's a list of actors who were almost cast in X-Men movies.
15 Sigourney Weaver as Emma Frost
This may come as a shock to some, but Sigourney Weaver, most known for her performance as Ripley in the Alien franchise, was originally considered for the role of Emma Frost. It was Bryan Singer’s wish, the director responsible for the very first two X-Men films to have Weaver play the role of Emma Frost in X-Men: The Last Stand. Despite having her lined up for the role when Singer left the X-Men franchise to pursue other directing opportunities, his departure brought a change in casting. While many love January Jones’ portrayal of Frost in X-Men: First Class, we can’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like to see Weaver as this powerful beauty.
14 Viggo Mortensen as Wolverine
Before starring as Aragorn in the acclaimed fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen was one of the top contenders being considered for the role of Wolverine, and Brian Singer even showed the actor storyboards for the superhero flick. Mortensen ended up going to the meeting and bringing his son Henry along, who expressed his thoughts on the way the character was portrayed in the comics and his imposing appearance.
The Oscar-nominated star was also nervous to sign on for multiple films and ended up turning down Singer's offer to play Wolverine, a decision Mortensen does not regret; he commended Hugh Jackman and stated, "I think he did great. I’m sure no one could imagine anyone doing it better than he did anyway.”
13 Neil Patrick Harris as Nightcrawler
Neil Patrick Harris has had numerous iconic television roles, famously portraying the titular teenage wonder in Doogie Howser, M.D., and the suit-loving womanizer Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother. The charismatic actor could have added another legendary character to his resume had he landed the role of Nightcrawler in 2003's X2: X-Men United, with Harris auditioning for the part of the German mutant Kurt Wagner in the second installment of the franchise.
Harris reflected on missing out on the role, revealing to Variety, "I remember feeling insecure in my own skin at that time to be heroic and animalistic at the same time.” Alan Cumming was eventually cast as Nightcrawler, as he also spoke fluent German and knocked his audition out of the park.
12 John Hurt as Magneto
The late Sir John Hurt, most known for his unique voice and his Academy-Award nominated performance in The Elephant Man, was considered for the role of Magneto in the original X-Men film. Among other contenders, including the voice actor of Magneto in X-Men: The Animated Series, Hurt was the one that seemed most likely to get the role with decades of acting experience under his belt, that is until Sir Ian McKellen entered the picture.
While both actors had a great deal to offer for the role, McKellen won out in the end. That said, this was not the end of John Hurt’s attempt to enter the comic book world as he went on to play the role of Professor Trevor Broom in Hellboy.
11 Jim Caviezel as Cyclops
The Passion of the Christ star Jim Caviezel was initially cast as Xavier's second-in-command Scott Summers A.K.A. Cyclops, before he was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with the 2000 sci-fi thriller Frequency. James Marsden delivered a knockout performance as the character, but there's no denying Caviezel would have given it his all in the role with his silent and commanding strength on-screen.
Cavizel told IGN in 2004, "I was cast. It really happened really quickly. The role, Cyclops, was at the time between doing Cyclops and another film I made at the time, Frequency. I can't remember. I was more involved in the Frequency film than [X-Men]."
10 Rachael Leigh Cook as Rogue
It’s hard to picture anyone apart from Anna Paquin playing the role of Rogue, whose powers send her into an angsty spiral. That said, Rachael Leigh Cook from She’s All That was heavily considered for the role Rogue, but she turned it down to “avoid acting on a green screen”. Cook wanted to be taken more seriously as an actress, and she thought that taking the role would not help her cause. Cook quickly realized her mistake, and while she hasn’t failed to get work over the years, taking the role in X-Men would have helped her career to move in the right direction.
9 Lucy Liu as Mystique
Lucy Liu’s career was soaring at the time that the first X-Men film was conceived, juggling Shanghai Noon and Charlie’s Angels, which brought Liu a great deal of attention for her skills in action films. While Rebecca Romjin was eventually chosen for the role in the original X-Men, fans are still grieving the loss of the potential to see Liu kick some major ass as Mystique. While Romjin and Jennifer Lawrence both did the character justice, it’s difficult not to wonder what Liu would have done differently had she been given the opportunity.
8 Kevin Nash as Sabretooth
Sabretooth is a vicious lion-like mutant who is not afraid to rip you to shreds if he needs to. Making his first appearance in X-Men, Sabretooth is played by Canadian wrestler Tyler Mane, known for his huge presence. Another wrestler who was heavily considered for the role is Kevin Nash AKA Big Daddy Cool Diesel.
Unlike Mane, Nash never went on to do any major acting, primarily staying in his field of wrestling. This seemed to be the best move for Nash as he moved on to found the New World Order alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. That said, we can’t help but wonder how different his career would be had he played the role of Sabretooth. Kevin Nash eventually did take on a role in a Marvel superhero project, where he played The Russian in 2004's The Punisher, which also featured X-Men alumni Rebecca Romiijn and Ben Foster.
7 Dougray Scott as Wolverine
Dougray Scott was actually cast as Wolverine back in 1999 before the hunt for the butt-kicking hero resumed once again, leading to Hugh Jackman being cast three weeks into the production of the movie. Despite being eager and excited to take on the powerful and gruff character, Scott was forced to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with his other film Mission: Impossible 2. He also ended up seriously injuring himself while on the set of the Tom Cruise-led action movie, damaging his shoulder while filming an action-fueled motorcycle stunt that caused the shoot to go longer than expected, causing him to back out.
6 Alice Eve as Emma Frost
X-Men: First Class had a very quick turnaround from when 20th Century Fox announced it, giving them 13 months to make the release date. This meant the film was cast very quickly in 2010, and one of the names that popped up early on was Alice Eve, who just starred in the comedy She's Out of My League and Sex and the City 2. Eve was reported to have been the top choice for the role of Emma Frost, but that quickly was denied, and the part instead went to January Jones from Mad Men. While some reports said she was cast and dropped out, Eve has said she was never cast and said it was only wild internet speculation.
Eve later went on to star in films like Men in Black 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and Before We Go. The same year that X-Men: First Class opened in theaters, she had an important role in the final season of the hit HBO series Entourage. Eve also joined the MCU as Mary Walker, known as the villain Typhoid Mary, on Iron Fist.
5 Benjamin Walker as Beast
Another potential what-if for X-Men: First Class. Benjamin Walker was actually cast in the role as Hank McCoy, aka Beast, for the film but then had to turn the part down due to his commitments to the Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. The role eventually went to Nicholas Hoult, who would play the character in X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and X-Men: Dark Phoneix.
Walker would get a stab at blockbuster stardom in 2012 as the lead role in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That did not work out, but he has had an incredible career on Broadway, starring in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, American Psycho, and All My Sons. He also has done well on television and recently can be seen as Gil-galad in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. He also joined the Marvel Universe as the character Erik Gelden in the final season of Jessica Jones.
4 Charlize Theron as Jean Grey
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Charlize Theron is no stranger to Hollywood, having delivered countless brilliant performances in films like Monster, Atomic Blonde, and Mad Max: Fury Road throughout her nearly thirty year career. While she has memorably played a serial killer, assassin, and evil witch, the actress could have portrayed the X-Men superhero Dr. Jean Grey in the 2000 film.
Screenwriter David Hayter and Bryan Singer flew to Vancouver in hopes of nabbing the blonde beauty for the role, but she ended up turning down the project. While Famke Jannsen ultimately portrayed the character, it would have been exciting to see Theron take on the role, especially since she's now established herself as a certified action star. Theron now has joined the MCU as Clea and was seen in the mid-credit scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
3 David Harbour as Blob
David Harbour, best known for his performance as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, for which he received an Emmy, was considered for the role of the Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The main reason behind him being turned down for the role at the time was that he was told he was too fat. At the audition, Harbour lifted his shirt and showed off his belly fat, which ultimately cost him the role. Pretty laughable considering the Blob is a massive man with an excessive amount of body mass. Instead, Kevin Durand was cast and wore a fat suit for the duration of the film.
2 Angela Bassett as Storm
Halle Berry was the perfect choice for Storm, but many others were considered before a final decision was made. One of these considerations was the award-winning actress Angela Bassett. She was originally the first choice for Storm, but her agents insisted that she be paid more, which was not feasible for the producers of the original X-Men film as it was just the beginning of the franchise and had a smaller budget than its successors. Bassett would eventually join the MCU as Ramonda in Black Panther, also making an appearance in Avengers: Endgame and the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
1 Russell Crowe as Wolverine
Probably the most surprising addition to this list is Russell Crowe turning down the role of Wolverine. Singer’s original choice for the role was Russell Crowe, whose reasoning for turning down the role was because of the relation to wolves both Gladiator and his potential role as Wolverine in X-Men would force him to do roles only related to wolves. Funnily enough, Jackman had the same assumption that the role of Wolverine had something to do with wolves, but they were both wrong. It’s hard to picture anyone but Jackman in the role of Wolverine, so perhaps Crowe's choice to decline the role was for the best.