Top 25 performances from a comic book movie or TV show
10. Patrick Stewart as Professor X
Appears in: X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan
Before 2000’s X-Men, superheroes were usually played by macho action stars who only had to fire off a few short quips here and there to make it through. By casting renowned Shakespeare and Star Trek superstar Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, X-Men changed the game. Stewart set a precedent for prestigious actors taking on comic book roles and turning in brilliant and grounded performances.
Professor X is a complicated, compromised figure, a genius with a tortured soul. His relationship with Magneto is particularly full of rich emotions that Stewart just eats up, adding nuance and depth to a long-running conflict between two philosophically opposed men who just happen to have superpowers. Stewart never stops showing us new sides of this character, all the way through his final performance as Professor X in 2017’s Logan. It’s a career highlight, and given the career we’re talking about, that’s saying something.
9. Ian McKellen as Magneto
Appears in: X-Men, X2, X-Men: Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past
The X-Men movies didn’t stop at just one prestigious Shakespearean actor. They got also got Sir Ian McKellen, who understands how to use his voice to tell a story and command an audience’s attention. He’s absolutely mesmerizing as Magneto, to the point where we understand how he’d be able to inspire so many of his fellow mutants to stand up and fight the rest of the human race.
I also appreciate how much fun McKellen seems to be having in the role. He can be gleeful about his schemes for mutant domination but never loses the humanity that makes Magneto such a sympathetic character. Magneto’s steadfast belief that what he is doing is right makes him one of the most formidable villains in the Marvel canon.
McKellen understands that Magneto needs to interact differently with different characters, and there are a lot of characters in this franchise. He’s constantly making plans within plans and sizing people up. His scenes with his old frenemy Charles Xavier are particularly excellent, two equals meeting for a battle of words. I get chills just thinking about his deep and menacing “Charles” and the slight smirk that creeps into his eyes as he realizes that he can destroy with impunity, just when you think he’s about to do the right thing.