Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known simply by his codename Professor X, is a character primarily portrayed by Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, and Harry Lloyd in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise produced by Marvel Studios, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
In the film series' continuity, Xavier is a telepathic mutant and activist who founded the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, intended to house displaced or discriminated mutants while acting as an educational and training ground for cultivating their powers. With the assistance of several of his school's alumni, he eventually forms and leads a mutant strike force known as the X-Men, dedicated to carrying out his initiative for a peaceful co-existence between mutants and humanity, the latter of whom express significant xenophobia towards them. He is often depicted as kind, empathetic and wise in his ability to relate to his mutant brethren, and believes in a future where his race is fully welcomed into society at large. He is contrasted by his former friend Erik Lehnsherr, who works to establish mutants as dominant over humans, due to his jaded views on their co-existence being amplified by his experiences as both a mutant and Holocaust survivor during World War II. As such, Xavier's X-Men often oppose Lehnsherr's Brotherhood of Mutants in working towards their respective goals. In a distant possible future, Xavier would end up accidentally killing a large number of mutants, including several X-Men, due to a telepathically-induced seizure, inadvertently putting his own race at risk of extinction, and leaving him to be cared for by a world-weary James "Logan" Howlett. Xavier assists him in escorting a young mutant named Laura across the Canadian border as they are being pursued by the Reavers, led by Donald Pierce and Zander Rice. While settling down on their objective, Xavier is unceremoniously murdered by X-24, a genetically enhanced clone of Logan created by the Alkali Corporation and Transigen Project following Laura's escape.
Xavier has been a central figure of the film series, appearing in eleven live-action feature films and one television series. Patrick Stewart plays him in the films X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, and Logan, while James McAvoy stars as a younger Xavier in X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool 2 and Dark Phoenix. The two actors both play him at different points in time in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Laurence Belcher portrays Xavier as a child in First Class, and Harry Lloyd portrays him in the television series Legion. Stewart returned to play alternate versions of Xavier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and Avengers: Doomsday (2026). Additionally, Stewart has voiced Xavier in the video games X2: Wolverine's Revenge and X-Men: The Official Game, the latter of which ties directly into the film series.
Although Xavier is American-born in the comics and in animation, he speaks with an English accent in the films. First Class establishes that he lived in the United States during childhood, though his mother speaks with an English accent, indicating he may have developed his accent because of her. Stewart's and McAvoy's performances as Xavier have received a universally positive critical reception, winning a Saturn Award. Stewart held the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a live-action Marvel character" from 2017 until 2021 alongside co-star Hugh Jackman, and outright from 2022 until 2024. A new incarnation of Professor X is set to be introduced for the MCU beginning with the untitled X-Men film (2028), with Christopher Abbott succeeding Stewart and McAvoy in the role.
Concept, creation, and characterization Development The comic book character, Professor X, was first created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby. Professor X first appeared in X-Men #1 (September 1963). Stan Lee had stated that the physical inspiration for Professor Xavier was from Academy Award-winning actor Yul Brynner.Stan Lee: Conversations While some people have noticed correlations between Professor Xavier and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as correlations between his longtime antagonist and friend, Erik Lehnsherr and Malcolm X, Stan Lee himself did not, in fact, base either character on these real life individuals, nor did he base the creation of the X-Men on the Civil Rights Movement. In numerous interviews, when discussing the origins of the X-Men, Stan Lee stated he simply thought it would be an interesting idea if a group of people called "mutants" were born with special powers instead of gaining them via an accident involving radiation, and that it would be doubly interesting if, in addition to fighting other "mutants," they had to deal with the public at large not liking them as well. As he began receiving more and more fan mail thanking him for writing stories on the evils of bigotry, he realized that the X-Men title would make a great vehicle to tackle these particular social issues.
Marvel Comics writers and chief editors Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas wrote an X-Men screenplay in 1984 when Orion Pictures held an option on the film rights, but development stalled when Orion began facing financial troubles. Throughout 1989 and 1990, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont were in discussions with Carolco Pictures for an X-Men film adaptation, with James Cameron as producer and Kathryn Bigelow directing. A story treatment was written by Bigelow, with Bob Hoskins being considered for Wolverine and Angela Bassett being considered for the role of Storm. The deal fell apart when Stan Lee piqued Cameron's interest in a Spider-Man film. Carolco went bankrupt, and the film rights reverted to Marvel. In December 1992, Marvel discussed selling the property to Columbia Pictures to no avail. Meanwhile, Avi Arad produced the animated X-Men TV series for Fox Kids. 20th Century Fox was impressed by the success of the TV show, and producer Lauren Shuler Donner purchased the film rights for them in 1994, bringing Andrew Kevin Walker to write the script.
Walker's draft involved Professor Xavier recruiting Wolverine into the X-Men, which consists of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel. The Brotherhood of Mutants, which consisted of Magneto, Sabretooth, Toad, Juggernaut and the Blob, try to conquer New York City, while Henry Peter Gyrich and Bolivar Trask attack the X-Men with three tall Sentinels. The script focused on the rivalry between Wolverine and Cyclops, as well as the latter's self-doubt as a field leader. Part of the backstory invented for Magneto made him the cause of the Chernobyl disaster. The script also featured the X-Copter and the Danger Room. Walker turned in his second draft in June 1994. Laeta Kalogridis, John Logan, James Schamus, and Joss Whedon were brought on for subsequent rewrites. One of these scripts kept the idea of Magneto turning Manhattan into a "mutant homeland", while another hinged on a romance between Wolverine and Storm. Whedon's draft featured the Danger Room, and concluded with Jean Grey dressed as the Phoenix. According to Entertainment Weekly, this screenplay was rejected because of its "quick-witted pop culture-referencing tone", and the finished film contained only two dialogue exchanges that Whedon had contributed. Michael Chabon pitched a six-page film treatment to Fox in 1996. It focused heavily on character development between Wolverine and Jubilee and included Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Beast, Iceman, and Storm. Under Chabon's plan, the villains would not have been introduced until the second film.
Casting
Rather than auditioning other actors, X-Men director Bryan Singer actively pursued Patrick Stewart for the role of Charles Xavier. The success of the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV and film franchises had typecast Stewart as his character, Jean-Luc Picard, and obtaining other roles became difficult. However, in the late 1990s, he accepted the role of Xavier, a role similar in many ways to Picard. He was initially reluctant to sign on to another major franchise, but his interest in working with director Bryan Singer persuaded him. While Singer worked to persuade Stewart to take the role, others who expressed interest in the part included actor Terence Stamp and singer Michael Jackson. Stewart announced that he was leaving the X-Men film franchise after Logan. He accepted an invitation to reprise his role as Xavier in the third season of Legion (a standalone television series initially intended to be set in the same continuity as the X-Men film series and following Xavier's long-lost schizophrenic son David Haller) by its star Dan Stevens, saying he was "Absolutely 100%" willing to reprise the role under such circumstances. However, it was ultimately announced that Harry Lloyd would portray a young Professor X in the third and final season; while having Stewart return as a present-day Xavier had been seriously considered by showrunner Noah Hawley, he elected the older character's presence to be unnecessary upon deciding to have the season revolve around time travel. Stewart reprises his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) as an alternate version of Xavier who is a member of the Illuminati. Stewart revealed during an interview with ComicBook.com in February 2023 that he has been told by Marvel Studios to "standby" in case they need him to reprise the role, when asked if he would like to show up in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) due to his X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman returning as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in that film; Stewart ultimately did not appear in the film. Stewart will reprise the character in the upcoming MCU film Avengers: Doomsday (2026), in which he portrays another alternate version of Xavier who leads the X-Men.
Fictional character biography Early life Charles Xavier was born in Westchester County, New York in 1932. His twin brother, "P. Xavier" was born brain-dead (due to Xavier's abilities of telepathy) and stuck in a coma. In 1944, Xavier met Raven, an orphaned scaly blue-skinned shapeshifter. She had broken into his family's mansion and was scrounging for food while disguised as his mother. Xavier overjoyed to meet someone else like him, invites her to live with him as his sister.
Later, Xavier completed high school at sixteen. He attended University of Oxford, accompanied by Raven. In 1962, Xavier earned Ph.D.s in Genetics, Biophysics, and Psychology after doing research on genetic mutation, which brings him to the attention of CIA agent Moira MacTaggert.
Original Earth-10005 variant First Class and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Seeking Xavier's advice on mutation, MacTaggert takes him and Raven to the CIA, where they convince Director McCone that mutants exist and that Sebastian Shaw is a threat. Another CIA officer sponsors the mutants and invites them to the secret "Division X" facility meeting young scientist Hank McCoy, a mutant with prehensile feet and enhanced intelligence.
The Central Intelligence Agency provides him access to Cerebro, which he uses to locate and recruit other mutants for the government. Around the same time, he meets Erik Lehnsherr after saving him from drowning in a botched attempt to kill Shaw. Xavier and Lehnsherr become friends and together they locate mutants for the CIA. Including exotic dancer Angel Salvadore, taxi driver Armando Muñoz, Army prisoner Alex Summers and the young Sean Cassidy.