In 2020, The Hollywood Reporter published an exposé detailing an alleged toxic work environment on the first X-Men movie.
The main cast reportedly threatened to walk away from the movie due to the director, Bryan Singer's behavior. Recently, the cast has been talking once more about the ups and downs of working on set with the controversial director.
Rami Malek also said his experience with the director of Bohemian Rhapsody "was not pleasant." Singer has not made a movie since being fired from Bohemian Rhapsody in 2017 for allegedly disappearing from the set.
Singer has been sued multiple times since 1997, although all the lawsuits have either been dropped or settled out of court. He has faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, including claims of sexual assault of minors. Singer has not been arrested or charged with any crimes and the director has repeatedly denied the allegations.
8 Hugh Jackman Says Allegations Against Bryan Singer Complicate Things
Earlier this year Hugh Jackman weighed in with The Guardian on the allegations against Bryan Singer. "You know, that's a really, really complicated question," the Logan actor said when asked if the controversies have tainted his work on the franchise.
"There's a lot of things at stake there. X-Men was the turning point, I believe, in terms of comic-book movies, and I think there's a lot to be proud of. And there's certainly questions to be asked, and I think they should be asked."
"But I guess I don't know how to elegantly answer that," Jackman added. "I think it's complex, and ultimately I look back with pride at what we've achieved and what momentum that started."
7 Hugh Jackman Doesn't Think Bryan Singer's On-Set Behavior Would Happen Now
The Wolverine star admits that there were things that happened on the set that “would not happen now”.
When asked about Bryan Singer’s behavior, Hugh Jackman told The Guardian when promoting his latest movie, The Son, “This was my first movie in America, you gotta understand; it was all so new to me.”
He continued, “I think there are some ways of being on set that would not happen now. And I think that things have changed for the better.”
In general, the Les Miserables actor added, “There’s way less tolerance for disrespectful, marginalizing, bullying, any oppressive behavior. There’s zero tolerance for it now and people will speak out, and I think that’s great.”
6 X2 Star Brian Cox Defends Director Bryan Singer
Succession star Brian Cox played William Stryker in X2. Cox explained that director, Bryan Singer was "under a lot of strain" throughout production.
"One of his great things was that when he came to a new set, he would have to rethink it," Cox recalled. "He'd have a thought, and then have to rethink [the scene]. So that was always a difficult transition for him. But once he cracked it, he cracked it very quickly and was able to get on with it."
"I think he's an extraordinary director — really, really gifted," Cox added "Certainly I will always be grateful to him because he had confidence in me and got me the role. I played a waiting game and it worked."
5 Jennifer Lawrence Calls Out Bryan Singer's Hissy Fits
Jennifer Lawrence, who played Mystique in multiple X-Men films, called out Bryan Singer in an award season roundtable discussion with her fellow actresses.
The Oscar-winning actress was addressing the stereotype that women are too emotional in stressful work environments. "I mean, I've worked with Bryan Singer," she said. "I've seen emotional men. I've seen the biggest hissy fits thrown on set."
4 Halle Berry Argued With Bryan Singer
Halle Berry allegedly once told Bryan Singer to "kiss my Black a**" while filming X2: X-Men United, according to Page Six.
In 2020, the Monsters Ball actress told Variety that she had arguments with the director.
"I would sometimes be very angry with him," Berry, who plays Storm, explained. "I got into a few fights with him, said a few cuss words out of sheer frustration. When I work, I'm serious about that. And when that gets compromised, I get a little nutty. But at the same time, I have a lot of compassion for people who are struggling with whatever they're struggling with, and Bryan struggles."
She also said his personal struggles meant he wasn't always there for the cast. "He didn't feel there," she said. "And we're outside in our little 'X-Men' stage freezing our a** off in Banff, Canada, with subzero weather and he's not focusing. And we're freezing. You might get a little mad."
3 Alan Cumming Wrote About On-Set Interventions With Bryan Singer
Alan Cumming recalled Bryan Singer's on-set behavior in his book: Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life.
The Good Wife actor wrote that Singer was abusing painkillers and had worrying on-set behavior which included extreme mood swings, temper tantrums and disappearing for hours at a time.
The Scottish actor says he, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James Marsden and Famke Janssen went to Singer’s trailer to discuss his behavior, all whilst still in their costumes!
Cumming says that Berry “spoke movingly of people she had known with drug issues” but Singer just berated them.
According to Alan, Singer said the cast “were lucky to be working with him”.
2 Olivia Munn Calls Out Bryan Singer For Disappearing
According to Olivia Munn, Bryan Singer walked off the X-Men: Apocalypse set in Montreal to fly to Los Angeles for around10 days to deal with a “thyroid issue,” leaving the production to scramble without a director.
“Instead of going to a doctor in Montreal, which is a very high-level, working city, he said he had to go to L.A.,” she told Variety in 2020. “And he said, ‘Continue, keep filming.’”
“I never thought any of it was normal, but I didn’t realize other people also thought it wasn’t normal,” Munn explained. “And the other people who thought it wasn’t normal would be people at high levels, people who make decisions on whether to hire this person. But this person is allowed to continue to go on. Fox still gives him Bohemian Rhapsody. And then we all know what happened."
“Even before the #MeToo stuff was exposed, there’s also just the bad behavior of people getting away with it. And no one in this world is so talented that it merits disrespecting other people and their time," she added.
1 Alan Cumming Calls Bryan Singer's Set 'Dangerous'
Alan Cumming says the working situation on the X-Men sequel was "dangerous" and "abusive".
In an interview with British journalist Kate Thornton, he lamented his work situation. "It was dangerous, it was abusive, and the studio didn't care. All the actors said something, and they still just went: 'Oh, nevermind. It's only gonna be a few more weeks, don't worry. And it's gonna make a lot of money.'"
"They actually said that and also 'you're under contract'. And I said: 'I don't want to feel dirty about going to work'. I would cry, it was just tragic," The Scottish actor, who recently returned his OBE, explained.
