Since 2000 we've been blessed with 10 X-Men movies, with another two coming this year. In this time, we've come to see definitive performances, such as Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. Additionally, we've seen major roles, like Magneto and Professor Xavier, recast to great success as the franchise freshens up for the future slate of movies.
While the movies have varied in terms of quality and success, it must be applauded that the casting agents have done a tremendous job so far. Even the minor characters have proven to be inspired choices as well. In fact, there are a few actors who've appeared in these 10 movies but you might've forgotten about already.
Some of them may have had their screen time significantly cut, while others were only hired for a dash-for-cash appearance. Since then, most of these actors have disappeared from the franchise with no indication that they'll return in the future.
With Disney's purchase of Fox, though, it's unlikely that we'll see these folks in the same role again, since Marvel Studios will want to stamp its own authority on the mutants.
With that said, let's look at the 15 Actors You Completely Forgot Were In X-Men Movies.
Annabelle Wallis
In recent years, Annabelle Wallis' star has burned bright. From her starring role on Peaky Blinders to her appearances in Annabelle, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and The Mummy, she's an actress who's in high demand. It's almost a shame she was wasted in X-Men: First Class because she would've made a much better Emma Frost than January Jones.
Nonetheless, Wallis appeared as Amy, a young woman with heterchromia, in the film. The only purpose she served was to show us that Charles Xavier was a ladies' man in his youth and tried to pick up girls at the bar.
After this scene, Wallis is nowhere else to be found and we can only presume that she rode off into the sunset with someone else.
Kelly Hu
In the comic books, Lady Deathstrike is a formidable adversary of Wolverine's– and shares a complicated relationship with the Ol' Canucklehead. Even if you read the latest Old Man Logan series, you'll notice how she's a complex villain and not just a cheap version of Elektra with sharp, longer nails.
In X2, Kelly Hu plays the role of Lady Deathstrike. However, the character is only ever referred to by her real name, Yuriko. Additionally, she isn't portrayed as a cyborg but as a brainwashed mutant who was involved in the Weapon X program and possesses regenerative abilities.
Unfortunately, she remained a henchwoman for the bulk of the movie and her history with Wolvie wasn't fully explored. Her curtain call came when Logan stabbed a fluid adamantium injection in her.
Eric Dane
McSteamy, McFluffy, McFlurry-- whatever his latest nickname is, Grey's Anatomy's Eric Dane made his superhero bow in X-Men: The Last Stand. In it, he portrayed Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man-- a mutant with the ability to self-replicate.
His two scenes were brief but still memorable– even if the film was stuffed with too many mutants and a convoluted plot. It was a missed opportunity since Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants looked exceptionally strong in theory, but their threat was nullified in favor of a Mortal Kombat: Annihilation-esque smorgasbord of characters.
It's unlikely that Dane will get a chance to reprise his role, as it was announced that James Franco will star in a film about Multiple Man. Allan Heinberg will serve as a screenwriter while Simon Kinberg and Franco are attached as producers.
Dania Ramirez
If you watched X-Men: The Animated Series, you're aware of the episode "Captive Hearts", which featured the Morlocks and X-Men's battle beneath the city. So, when Dania Ramirez was announced as Callisto (the leader of the Morlocks) in X-Men: The Last Stand, many hoped she'd have a memorable showdown with Storm like the characters did in the animated show.
Fortunately, we did receive a battle between the two, even if Ramirez's impact on the overall film was minimal at best. Sure, she did get more of an arc than some of the other actors on this list, but it felt like an unnecessary subplot than a vital element of the storyline.
Since the film, Ramirez built herself a solid TV career, becoming a regular on Heroes, Devious Maids, and Once Upon a Time.
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan built up a name for himself by playing the hobbit Merry in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings series. Well, he certainly had more lines in those films than he had in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In retrospect, Monaghan probably did dodge a bullet by not having a major role to play in this ill-fated movie.
It was originally speculated that Monaghan would be portraying Barnell Bohusk/Beak, but that rumor proved to be false. He was instead cast as Chris Bradley, which is an iteration of the mutant also known as Bolt. Bradley possesses the power of controlling and manipulating electricity – in other words, electrokinesis.
Monaghan appeared in the flashback of Logan's time with Team X and then was quickly offed by Victor Creed/Sabretooth.
Katie Stuart
While Ellen Page is now seen as the definitive Kitty Pryde (and might get a solo movie if the latest gossip is to be believed), there were two actresses before her in the franchise. In 2000's X-Men, she was portrayed by Sumela Kay in a brief cameo, while in 2003's X2, it was Katie Stuart in the role.
Stuart had more screen time than Kay, as she was shown in the thick of the action, phasing through walls to escape Stryker's goons and falling through her bed in a memorable moment.
Stuart didn't come back for the third film, but she's been active since then. She appeared in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, She's the Man, The Edge of Seventeen, and had a recurring role in The 100.
Booboo Stewart
When the news broke that X:Men: Days of Future Past would be introducing new mutants– such as Bishop, Blink, Sunspot, and Warpath– fans rejoiced. Finally, we'd see the universe expand with popular characters from the comic books.
Well, no one bothered to tell us that these appearances would last less than a bag of Doritos. For Booboo Stewart, his appearance as James Proudstar/Warpath was so fleeting that if you blinked you'd miss it. In fact, you could've removed him from the entire movie and no one would've been the wiser.
Warpath's brother, John Proudstar/Thunderbird, has fared better on TV, though, as he's part of the main cast of The Gifted (played by Blair Redford). Still, it's kind of weird because John died on the X-Men's second mission in the comic book series, yet he's had more screen time than his bro.
Olivia Williams
It was quite the coup for Fox to secure the services of actress Olivia Williams as Moira MacTaggert. The British star had a diversified and distinguished list of roles, and took a leap into blockbuster territory with X-Men: The Last Stand.
Sadly, she went uncredited for her role in the movie, where she was relegated to the Charles Xavier post-credits scene that confused everyone in the cinema. While we expected her to play a bigger part in the franchise going forward, we never saw her again as the franchise received a soft reboot and Rose Byrne was cast as the younger MacTaggert.
Williams didn't seem to be fazed by this, as she went right back to British movies and continued to star in a variety of productions.
Brian Tee
Before he was slicing and dicing as the best on-screen version of the Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Brian Tee had another razor-sharp gig in The Wolverine. In many ways, Tee's role was as forgettable as the movie itself, but it shouldn't take away from the fact that it was his X-Men debut.
In the movie, Tee played Noburo Mori, the minister of justice who's engaged to Mariko and prevented Logan from getting jiggy with her. His big scene was when Wolverine confronted him while he danced around with a bunch of ladies wearing only his underwear.
There were rumors that Tee would be revealed as the Silver Samurai in the movie, but sadly his role proved to be on a much smaller scale.
Scott Adkins
If it were up to the Internet, Scott Adkins would've been Batman already. He's one of the best action stars working in the industry and his fighting prowess is unmatched. Even so, Adkins has had to hustle and take his opportunities where he can. One of them was in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he was Deadpool.
Now, before you rage in the comments section, it's true: Adkins shared the Deadpool role with Ryan Reynolds. You remember all that awesome fighting between Weapon XI and Logan? That was Adkins doing the fighting.
Speaking to The Huffington Post, Adkins actually apologized for his role in the movie. "I was part of the problem. I was part of the abomination of that character. I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you and all your readers that it wasn't my idea. I was doing what I was told by 20th Century Fox."
Daniel Henney
When the news broke that we'd see Agent Zero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, older fans debated if we'd get to see David North as Maverick in a flashback. After all, that yellow costume was something else and it would've been a brave move to include it in the movie.
Unfortunately, Daniel Henney didn't get a chance to do much in the film as he was relegated to looking like Agent Smith or one of the Men in Black. His character was so pointless and banal that fans wondered why he was even used at all.
Chatting to Rama's Screen, Henney spoke of his experience: "There's a lot of drama that took place during that movie so we were lucky that it came out, to be honest with you. Of course I wish I could've had more in the film, but I was happy with what it was."
Glenn Morshower
Glenn Morshower is the guy you see in nearly every movie but never know his name. He's established quite the career for himself playing authority figures and he seems to relish the opportunity to portray colonels and generals. If you're a superhero TV connoisseur, you'll undoubtedly recognize him as General Sam Lane, Lois Lane's father, in Supergirl.
In X-Men: First Class, Morshower took on the role of Colonel Hendy, a US Army officer who gets in deep with the Hellfire Club and then ends up dead as a result. He wasn't a huge part of the film, serving more as a target for the evil mutants to practice their superpowers on.
Knowing Hollywood's love for putting Morshower in films, though, we wouldn't be surprised if he pops up in another Marvel production in the near future.
Caleb Landry Jones
The introduction of new mutants in X-Men: First Class was a welcome injection of fresh energy into the franchise. One of the standout mutants was Sean Cassidy/Banshee, as played by Caleb Landry Jones. Not only did Jones bring a different angle to Banshee, but he also provided some comedic relief in the process.
Unfortunately, Jones didn't return for X-Men: Days of Future Past and can be found acting in grittier, horror movies now. His character's disappearance from the universe was never made clear, though.
While many of the mutants from the first film were described as casualties of war, i.e. dead, we never got a definitive answer to Banshee's whereabouts. Maybe he was shacking up with Moira MacTaggert somewhere and no one wanted Xavier to know?
Bruce Davison
We've noted how certain actors have become known for their definitive performances in the X-Men movies, and Bruce Davison's name should be added to this list, too. Can you think of a better Senator Kelly than him?
In 2000's X-Men, Davison played a larger part in the film as he was kidnapped by Magneto, mutated, and ended up dissolving into liquid after he sought out help from the X-Men.
Even though his character died in the previous movie, Davison did make a brief appearance in X2, as Mystique used his persona to worm her way into government.
With the timeline altered after the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, we need to ask ourselves if Senator Kelly could still be alive. After all, Jean Grey and Scott Summers are alive and well, so why not Kelly?
Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan struck it big with his first major role as a young James Howlett in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Regardless of the film's critical reception, it cemented him as a legitimate actor and set him on his path to starring in the Spud series, as well as becoming an insanely popular YouTuber. Oh, and just so you know: his channel has a lot more class than Logan Paul's.
Sivan actually lucked out with the part because Kodi Smith-McPhee (who went on to play Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse) opted out to work on The Road at the last minute.
The casting directors saw Sivan's audition tape, recognized him from his singing on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon, and decided he was the next best option to play the young Wolverine.
---
Do you know any other X-Men actors we might've forgotten about? Let us know in the comments section!