Charles Xavier (film series character)

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Charles Xavier
X-Men character
Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier in X-Men
First appearance	X-Men (2000)[a] X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)[b]
Last appearance	X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)[a] Dark Phoenix (2019)[b]
Based on	Professor X by Stan Lee Jack Kirby
Adapted by	Bryan Singer[a] Tom DeSanto[a] Jane Goldman[b] Simon Kinberg[b] Matthew Vaughn[b]
Portrayed by	Patrick Stewart (2000–2017) James McAvoy (2011-2019) Laurence Belcher (young)
In-universe information
Full name	Charles Francis Xavier
Nickname	Professor X
Species	Human mutant
Title	Headmaster
Occupation	Researcher Teacher
Affiliation	Central Intelligence Agency X-Men
Relatives	Unnamed father Sharon Xavier (mother) Raven (adopted sister) Unnamed twin brother[a] Logan (surrogate son)[b] Laura (surrogate granddaughter) Marie "Rogue" D'Ancanto (surrogate granddaughter)
Nationality	British-American
Powers and abilities	Genius Intellect Powerful psychic abilities Telepathy

Charles Francis Xavier, also known by his codename Professor X, is a fictional character from 20th Century Fox's superhero film series X-Men based on the Marvel Comics character; Professor X created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Xavier has been a central figure of the film series, appearing in eleven live-action X-Men feature films to date. He is played by Patrick Stewart in X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, and Logan, and by James McAvoy in X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool 2 and Dark Phoenix. Both actors play him at different time-periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. It is implied that Xavier is one of the most powerful mutants in the world. Although Xavier is American-born in the comics and in animation, he speaks with a British accent in the films (although First Class establishes that he lived in the United States during childhood, though he may have picked up the accent from his English mother).

Character creation[]

The comic book character Professor X was initially created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, Professor X first appeared in X-Men #1 (September 1963). Stan Lee had stated that the physical inspiration for Professor Xavier was from Academy Award–winning actor Yul Brynner.^[1][2] Professor Xavier's character development was also inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., as a contrast to the views of his longtime antagonist Erik Lensherr, whose approach is considered more comparable to that of Malcolm X.^[3]

Casting[]

Rather than auditioning other actors, X-Men director Bryan Singer actively pursued Patrick Stewart for the role of Charles Xavier. The success of the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV and film franchises had typecast Patrick Stewart as his character, Jean Luc Picard, and obtaining other roles became difficult.^[4][5] However, in the late 1990s he accepted the role of Xavier, a role similar in many ways to Picard.^[4] He was initially reluctant to sign on to another movie franchise, but his interest in working with director Bryan Singer persuaded him.^[4] While Singer worked to persuade Stewart to take the role, others who expressed interest in the part included actor Terence Stamp and singer Michael Jackson.^[6] Stewart announced that he was leaving the X-Men film franchise after Logan, which was the final time he played the role.^[7]

Fictional character biography[]

Original timeline[]

X-Men[]

Xavier is first introduced in X-Men when he sends Storm (Halle Berry) and Cyclops (James Marsden) to rescue Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Rogue (Anna Paquin) from Sabretooth (Tyler Mane). Xavier believes that the attack was caused by Magneto (Ian McKellen) and that Wolverine was the intended target. He gives Wolverine and Rogue a home in the institute and promises to help Wolverine remember his past if he is also allowed forty-eight hours to discover why Magneto wants Wolverine. He is able to control both Sabretooth and Toad (Ray Park) at the same time and speak through them, in an attempt to talk Magneto out of his plans against humans. Xavier uses Cerebro to locate Rogue when she runs away but is poisoned when he uses it later (as Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) had tampered with it). At the end of the film, he recovers and advises Wolverine to search Alkali Lake for answers to his past.

X2[]

Upon learning that the mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) attacked the President of the United States, Xavier sends Storm and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) to bring the mutant for questioning. He and Cyclops leave to visit Magneto (as he is suspected behind the attack), leaving Wolverine in charge of the school. In Magneto's cell, Xavier learns that Magneto was brainwashed by William Stryker (Brian Cox) and forced to tell Stryker all about the institute and Cerebro. Xavier realizes too late that it is a trap and is captured. He wakes up in Stryker's underground test facility, tied to a chair and fixed to a device that restricts his mental powers. He is left in the room with Jason Stryker (Michael Reid McKay), William's son and a powerful illusionist whom Xavier previously taught. Now brainwashed by his father, Jason traps Xavier into various illusions, keeping him in one where Xavier is back in the institute (which is empty) and Jason is portrayed as a scared little girl. To comfort the "girl" and find his students, Xavier goes to use Cerebro. It is discovered that Xavier was captured to power a makeshift Cerebro Stryker created. When his powers are magnified by Cerebro, he can locate any mutant in the world. If he concentrates hard enough, he can kill all mutants or humans and possibly everyone in the world. Under Jason's illusion, Xavier is tricked into concentrating on all of the world's mutants, nearly killing them. He then switches to attacking all of the world's humans after Magneto – immune to the assault thanks to his helmet – confronts and threatens Jason. Nightcrawler and Storm rescue Xavier from the illusion and he has them all fly to Washington, to warn the president against the possibility of a mutant/human war.

X-Men: The Last Stand[]

Xavier first appears in a flashback, when he and Magneto pick up a young Jean Grey as their first student. He is given a more youthful appearance with digital technology.

In the present, Xavier expresses worry over Cyclops' grief over Jean's death and tells Storm that should anything happen to him, she was to replace him as head of the school. When Jean is discovered alive, Xavier sedates her and tells Wolverine that he had kept her powers in check with mental barriers since she was a child, resulting in her developing a second personality known as "The Phoenix". When Jean awakens as The Phoenix and escapes, Xavier tracks her down to her old home and tries to convince her to return. Rather than starting a fight outside her house, Xavier lets Magneto come with him. Xavier tries to calmly talk Jean into returning to the mansion, but Magneto turns the unstable Jean against the Professor. This causes Xavier to panic and tell Jean her that she is a danger to everyone, including herself. He uses the fact that Jean killed Cyclops to try to bring her back to herself, but it has the exact opposite effect he was hoping for, further angering the Phoenix instead of stunning her into realizing her evil potential. After much argument, the Phoenix manifests its great powers as she tries to keep Xavier from re-establishing the psychic blocks to imprison it again. Infuriated both by Xavier's meddling in her head and Magneto (who insinuates that Xavier wishes to restrain her and "give her the cure"), she uses her mind to first lift her house into the air and then cause Xavier to explode into ash. His death causes a great impact on the residents of the institute and it is nearly closed until Storm decides to honor Xavier's wishes and act as its head following the arrival of Warren.

In a post-credits scene, Xavier speaks to Moira McTaggert (Olivia Williams) through the body of a comatose man, implying that his consciousness survived by transferring itself into that body (an action that Xavier had discussed at the beginning of the film as part of an ethics class, the question being if it would be ethically right for a mutant like himself to attempt such a transference, noting that the man in question was virtually brain-dead) revealing that he survived his physical murder by Phoenix.

On the DVD Commentary, it is revealed that the body on Muir Island was someone named "P. Xavier". One of the writers noted that this is an original twin brother, written for the scene, who was born brain-dead (due to Professor X's amount of power). This brother can apparently walk but due to being in a coma for a long time and brain-dead since birth, the brother is alluded to have restricted movement so his legs don't work and Charles is still forced to use his old wheelchair. This is an example of a comic book death; this scene was not in the script but was secretly added during filming.^[8]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine[]

Professor X appears briefly at the end of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After Wolverine frees a group of young mutants including a young Cyclops from William Stryker's lab, they try to escape from the facility but get lost. Cyclops suddenly hears a telepathic voice, which guides him out to safety along with the other mutants. Outside they are greeted by Professor X, who was communicating telepathically with Cyclops. The Professor then takes everyone into his helicopter, presumably to his mutant school. As in the opening of The Last Stand, Patrick Stewart was digitally de-aged to appear younger, and Professor X is able to walk and does not use a wheelchair. As an explanation, Xavier can be seen walking in X-Men: Days of Future Past, which chronologically takes place prior to the events of this film, by creating the illusion that he is standing in various scenes when in reality the character is only present by telepathic projection.^[9][10]

X-Men: First Class[]

James McAvoy portrays the young Charles Xavier / Professor X in X-Men: First Class. He serves as one of the two protagonists of the film along with Erik Lensherr / Magneto (Michael Fassbender).^[11] As a young man, he befriends and adopts Raven Darkhölme (Jennifer Lawrence), later known as Mystique. He earns his doctorate after doing research on genetic mutation at Oxford, which brings him to the attention of CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne). The Central Intelligence Agency provides him access to Cerebro, which he uses to locate and recruit other mutants for the government. Around the same time, he meets Erik Lensherr after saving him from drowning in a botched attempt to kill Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Charles and Erik become friends and together they locate mutants for the CIA. Once the team is assembled, Shaw and the Hellfire Club attack the CIA facility, kill all the human personnel and one of Charles's recruits and persuade another to defect. Charles retreats with the survivors to his Westchester, New York mansion to train them as an independent team of operatives to prevent nuclear war between the US and USSR as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They defeat the threat, but Charles is unable to convince Erik not to take his revenge on a helpless Shaw, with Magneto subsequently attempting to redirect a series of missiles back towards the ships that fired them after the governments decide to try to eliminate the mutant 'threat' despite Xavier's protests that most of the men on those ships don't even know why they're being asked to fire at the beach. In the film's final confrontation, it is revealed that MacTaggert causes Charles' paralysis when she fires upon Magneto, who deflects one of the bullets into his friend's lower spine. Following this, Xavier and Magneto part ways, Xavier informing his old friend that they do not share the same dream, and Xavier severs his ties with the United States government completely, changing the name of their team from "G-Men" to "X-Men," and turns his home into a school for mutant children. To do this, he must erase MacTaggert's memory so she cannot inform her superiors about the school's existence.

The circumstances of Xavier's paralysis caused continuity errors in the timeline of the X-Men saga, as he is seen walking in sequences taking place at least 20 years later, in a film that was released years before. As an explanation, Xavier can be seen walking in X-Men: Days of Future Past, which explains he can do such by creating the illusion that he is standing in various scenes when in reality the character is only present by telepathic projection.^[12][13]

Laurence Belcher portrays 12-year-old Charles Xavier.

The Wolverine[]

Charles appears in the post-credits scene of The Wolverine with Stewart reprising his role, where he appears along with a redeemed Magneto to warn Wolverine of an upcoming crisis. Amazed, Wolverine asks how he is still alive: Charles reminds Logan that he once said long ago that Logan is not the only one with gifts. A photograph of Wolverine with Xavier also appears in Yashida's scrapbook.

X-Men: Days of Future Past[]

James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart reprise their roles as the younger and older Charles Xavier / Professor X respectively, in X-Men: Days of Future Past,^[14] which was released on May 23, 2014.^[15][16] In the sequences set in 1973, Xavier is seen to be older and bitter, having given up on his dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants after the failure of his school, and leading a reclusive life as a result. Despite having been paralyzed by Magneto in X-Men: First Class, he regained his mobility from Beast's (Nicholas Hoult) serum, but at the cost of suppressing his mutation.^[17] In addition, Xavier is living under the care of McCoy, is impolite to people, uses profane language, occasionally behaves violently, and drinks heavily as a coping mechanism for his depression at his failure.

By 2023, the Sentinels have decimated the mutant race and virtually conquered Earth, forcing the X-Men to seek a new method of combatting their threat. With Kitty Pryde (Elliot Page) having developed the ability to project an individual's consciousness back into their past selves, Xavier proposes that he be sent back into his past self in 1973 so that he can prevent Mystique from killing Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) after he proposed the Sentinel program, believing that this death is the primary catalyst for this timeline. However, Kitty explains that the process of projecting someone's mind into the past would be too psychologically traumatic even for Xavier to survive it, prompting Wolverine to volunteer to go back instead as his power would allow him to recover from the damage inflicted.

When Wolverine arrives to seek his help, the past Xavier is eventually inspired to strive for his goal again. As the serum suppressing his abilities begins to wear off, instead of taking his next dose, Xavier accepts Wolverine's encouragement to read his mind, allowing the young Xavier to not only see Logan's memories but also briefly communicate with his future self, Logan's projected mind acting as a psychic 'bridge' between the past and the future. The older Xavier convinces his younger self to maintain his faith that humanity can rise above its mistakes rather than judge it by when it stumbles despite the future he lives in, offering his young self advice on how to get past the fear of emotional pain that is hindering his powers by telling him that he can accept the pain of others by focusing on the hope for a better future. The older Xavier also allows his young counterpart to see his memories, which include the differences he had accomplished and the students his young self would have.

Free from his self-doubts from this encounter and aware of the peril of the impending crisis, Charles subsequently stops using the serum to regain his telepathy, determined to avert the dystopian future and save Mystique from damnation. Although Magneto nearly triggers a mass slaughter when he takes control of the Sentinels during their demonstration in Washington, D.C., Mystique knocks him out in time, followed by Xavier appealing to her to not assassinate Trask. As a result of the changed past and the knowledge Xavier has gained from both Wolverine and his future self, he is able to change outcomes in the next 50 years; all of the X-Men (including Cyclops and Jean Grey, who had previously died in X-Men: The Last Stand), are alive in the altered future timeline. In addition, he and Logan are the only two who are aware of the details of changes they have made towards the timeline's continuity.

Archival footage of Laurence Belcher from X-Men: First Class was used in this film.

Revised timeline[]

Deadpool[]

While Professor X doesn't appear in Deadpool, he is referenced a number of times by the titular character (Ryan Reynolds). At one point Colossus (Andre Tricoteux) attempts to take Deadpool to the Professor, when the latter asks if it is "McAvoy or Stewart", a metafictional reference to the X-Men film universe's original and revised timelines. Deadpool escapes and never meets the Professor, but later in the film, he decides he needs the help of the X-Men, and goes to the X-Mansion. Upon his arrival, it's implied that Xavier is away given Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) are the only X-Men at the mansion. In another metafictional joke, Deadpool remarks that these two are the only ones on screen because the studio could not afford more than the two of them.

X-Men: Apocalypse[]

McAvoy reprised his role as Xavier in X-Men: Apocalypse. McAvoy stated in an interview with The Huffington Post that he would be older and would lose his hair in the film.^[18][19] During the film, it is stated that Xavier believes that humans and mutants have now achieved peace, prompting him to focus on building up the Institute as a more conventional school, intending to bring humans into the school as well as mutants, although Beast and Mystique each make preparations for a future conflict to prepare for the worst even if Beast wants to hope. He has started teaching the young Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), trying to help her develop a more gradual control of her powers without the telepathic blocks of the original timeline. The storyline also sees his first meeting with Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) in the altered timeline after Cyclops' powers emerge during an argument with a bully at school. When he hears that Eric has disappeared and learns of rumors of an ancient mutant, Xavier makes contact with a new foe, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), while using Cerebro, allowing Apocalypse to take remote control of Xavier's telepathy and use him to make the governments launch all their nuclear missiles, before teleporting to the mansion to abduct Xavier. Although Apocalypse forces Xavier to transmit a telepathic message to the human race by enhancing his powers, proclaiming Apocalypse's intentions to launch a plan of conquest against the world, Xavier uses the opportunity to transmit a private message to Jean with his location and concludes the message by telling those with power to protect those without rather than to prepare for conquest.

Apocalypse attempts to use his equipment to transfer his essence into Xavier's body, allowing him to gain full access to Xavier's telepathy, but although the energy shield of the transference burns off Xavier's hair as he tries to escape, he is finally rescued by Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) before the process can be completed. During the later conflict, Xavier uses the still-existing telepathic link between himself and Apocalypse to attack the latter on the psychic plane while the other X-Men confront him in the real world, although in the end, he is only a distraction until Jean can unleash her own full power. At the end of the film, Xavier is bald and wearing his usual suit as he sits outside the Danger Room, watching the new X-Men prepare for training under Mystique as their new field leader.

Logan[]

Patrick Stewart returns to the role in Logan, with the film's plot taking place in an alternative universe, in an alternative 2029. In this alternative universe, most of the X-Men were inadvertently killed by Charles in a seizure-induced mental attack one year earlier, and the mutant population is dwindling because of the Transigen virus. In this alternative universe, Professor X is 90 years old, and suffering from Alzheimer's disease, causing him to lose control of his very strong telepathic abilities via seizures. Logan and Caliban (Stephen Merchant) act as Xavier's protectors and caretakers. Charles senses the presence of another mutant in Texas named Laura (Dafne Keen) who has a lot in common with Logan, and the two decide to help keep her safe from Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and the Reavers who are trying to capture her. They drive towards North Dakota as Laura's previous caretaker informed them of a mutant safe haven being located nearby. They take shelter at a hotel in Oklahoma City. However, when the Reavers catch up to them and enter their hotel room, Charles has another seizure, causing him to telepathically freeze everyone in the area until Logan gives him a suppressant. The trio is eventually given shelter by a farming family, the Munsons, after Charles secretly helps them round up their horses during a highway incident. When the Munsons offer them a meal and a place to stay for the night, Charles tells Logan the importance of life and family before going to sleep. Later that night, while Logan is away, Charles realizes the truth about what he did to the X-Men and confesses his guilt to a man he thinks is Logan, but is revealed to be X-24, a perfect clone of Logan, who fatally stabs Charles and kills the Munsons. Logan desperately tries to save Charles, but to no avail. His last words are the name of the boat they were going to buy: "The Sunseeker." Logan eventually manages to escape with Laura and Charles's body, and later tearfully buries him near an isolated lake.

Deadpool 2[]

In a very brief cameo, McAvoy plays Xavier in Deadpool 2, as Stewart was too busy in other projects to reprise his role. After Deadpool is brought back to the X-Mansion, he loudly questions and remarks to Colossus where the other mutants are, as he always only sees him or Negasonic Teenage Warhead at the mansion. Xavier, Beast and other X-Men are briefly shown behind a sliding wooden door, which is quietly closed in order to hide from Deadpool.

Dark Phoenix[]

McAvoy reprises his role as young Xavier in 2019's Dark Phoenix. When the film begins, set in the early 1990s, the X-Men are enjoying a period of acceptance as public heroes, to the point that the President calls them for assistance in dealing with a shuttle accident, although Mystique expresses concern that Xavier is more focused on their current celebrity status than his original goal of co-existence between mutants and humans. The situation becomes dangerous when Jean absorbs a mysterious space anomaly that almost destroyed the shuttle, elevating her already-formidable powers and compromising her mental state, which leads to Jean discovering that her father is alive; Xavier had previously told Jean that both her parents had died in a car accident Jean inadvertently caused when her powers activated, albeit only after her father rejected the offer to remain part of her life. The traumatized Jean destroys her father's house and accidentally kills Mystique, which leads to Beast rejecting Xavier to join Magneto in seeking revenge on Jean for Mystique's death. When an alien race confront Jean with the goal of draining off her new power to allow them to terraform Earth into their new homeworld, the X-Men come back together to protect her, helping her achieve a new sense of mental stability before she departs Earth. The film ends with Beast taking over as headmaster of the school while Xavier decides to 'retire' for a time, a final scene showing him playing chess with Magneto in Paris as they contemplate their new future.

Accolades[]

Both Stewart and McAvoy have been nominated for awards for their performances in the role.

Award	Year	Actor	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Saturn Awards	2001	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	X-Men	Nominated	[20]
Scream Awards	2011	James McAvoy	Best Fantasy Actor	X-Men: First Class	Nominated	[21]
	2011	James McAvoy	Best Superhero	X-Men: First Class	Nominated	[21]
People's Choice Awards	2012	James McAvoy	Favorite Movie Superhero	X-Men: First Class	Nominated	[22]
Kids' Choice Awards	2017	James McAvoy	Favorite Squad	X-Men: Apocalypse	Nominated	[23]
Broadcast Film Critics Association	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Nominated	[20]
Detroit Film Critics Society	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Nominated	[20]
Houston Film Critics Society	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Nominated	[20]
North Carolina Film Critics Association	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Nominated	[20]
North Texas Film Critics Association	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Nominated	[20]
Phoenix Film Critics Society	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Nominated	[20]
Saturn Awards	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Won	[20]
Seattle Film Critics Awards	2018	Patrick Stewart	Best Supporting Actor	Logan	Nominated	[20]
Teen Choice Awards	2019	James McAvoy	Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie Actor	Dark Phoenix	Nominated

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]