Michael Jackson Pitched Himself for the Role of Professor X to Bryan Singer for X-MEN
THR recently posted an article that takes a deep dive into director Bryan Singer and the traumatic drama that occurred on the set of the original X-Men movie and how it created a monster. It’s quite an interesting article filled with some messed up information.
However, there was one fun bit of information that was revealed that is sure to raise some eyebrows. It was definitely unexpected! It turns out that early in production Michael Jackson met with Singer to pitch himself as Professor X. That’s right, Michael Jackson wanted to play Charles Xavier!
The report says that this meeting took place in the spring of 1999, “Michael Jackson walked in the door. Wearing sunglasses and refusing to shake hands, Jackson was visiting the industrial space to meet with Singer to discuss the prospect of playing Professor Xavier in the upcoming film.”
X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner recalls, "I said to him, 'Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?' And Michael said, 'Oh yeah. You know, I can wear makeup.'“
It’s then explained that with that, “Jackson queued up an elaborate presentation complete with the short film Ghosts, in which the pop star morphed into a 60-something white mayor railing against a well-meaning performer who entertains local children with magic tricks. Twentieth Century Fox, the studio behind the film, never seriously considered Jackson for the role, which eventually went to Patrick Stewart in a turn that enabled him to be known for a popular character other than Star Trek's Captain Picard. As one former executive remembers, "Michael was already in the thick of all his allegations by X-Men."
X-Men producer Ralph Winter, who met Jackson during that visit explained that “it was just another day in the Singer vortex, in which nothing was predictable, impulsivity reigned, and there was always an entourage.”
I included the short film Ghost that Jackson showed in his presentation below. I can’t even imagine Jackson in the role of Professor X! That casting makes absolutely no sense at all. Luckily they cast Patrick Stewart in the role!