Oscar Isaac was part of the X-Men universe, albeit as a villain. In X-Men: Apocalypse, he played Apocalypse, one of the most powerful mutants, who believed in the survival of the fittest and wanted to reshape the world according to his belief system. He chose to do the film based on its star-studded ensemble cast, but in retrospect, it wasn’t as gratifying as he had thought it would be.
Oscar Isaac had a hard time with Apocalypse costume
In the renowned Hot Ones podcast, Isaac revealed that one of the biggest reasons for doing the film was the opportunity to act alongside a stacked cast, which included Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy. He expected a collaborative experience working closely with them, but it wasn’t meant to be. His heavy prosthetics and suit made it a grueling ordeal, as he struggled with limited mobility and extreme overheating.
“One of the big reasons I did the job, I was like Fassbender? Jennifer Lawrence? McAvoy? All these amazing actors. Yeah! And then I never saw any of them because I was so overheated. And like I couldn’t turn,” the Frankenstein actor stated.
Isaac had to spend much of his time in a cooling tent between takes just to regulate his body temperature. What’s ironic is that he claimed he barely interacted with any of his co-actors.
“So, I just got put in this cooling tent. Sometimes someone would come by and be like [patting him on the back] hey Oscar. I’d be like, huh? And by the time I turned around, they were gone already. So, it was very challenging. But I am thankful for the cooling tent,” he added.
Safe to say, a big ensemble cast doesn’t always turn into shared screen time or on-set bonding. Actors who have to wear heavy makeup and full prosthetics often have to sacrifice comfort and interaction for the sake of the film.
Nevertheless, that was the only X-Men film Isaac ever did, and he missed out on the creative collaboration he had hoped for. Did you like Oscar Isaac’s role in X-Men: Apocalypse? Let us know in the comments section below.
