X-Men: Apocalypse has been burning up the international box office, but not everything has been positive (our review here). Ever since the first picture (above) of the titular Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) appeared in Entertainment Weekly, people have complained about the purple tint to the photo, Isaac’s height, similarities to Ivan Ooze, etc. Director Bryan Singer addressed some of the complaints a few weeks ago, saying the character isn’t actually purple and the voice heard in the trailer wasn’t the final version he’d have after post-production. Singer also pointed out that he chose the 5-foot-9 Oscar Isaac for his acting skills, not his height, which is a fair point considering you can buy someone a pair of lifts, but you can’t buy them acting talent.
Now Singer and Oscar Isaac have spoken to Entertainment Weekly about fan backlash to Apocalypse’s appearance and Isaac’s casting. Singer reiterated previous statements, saying they built a suit that “enhanced Oscar’s size” (Can I have one of those?) because it was more important to cast someone who could “connect with the horsemen” and be “intimate and persuasive in his interaction with our lead characters” than choose an actor based on height. Singer pointed out this wasn’t the first time ignoring an actor’s height led to fan backlash:
“Can you imagine what it was like for fans 16 years ago when I cast 6-foot-3 Hugh Jackman to play 5-foot-4 Wolverine in X-Men? Can you imagine the reactions I got? I nearly got crucified. And there was no social media for me to say, ‘Hey guys, don’t worry, it will work out.’ Hopefully the audience will understand why the character had to be played by this particular actor.”
We can think of at least 25 reasons why he’s good.
Oscar Isaac, for his part, told Entertainment Weekly he was “not super pleased” that a purple light of a portal the characters were passing through in the scene changed the appearance of his character in the first photo people saw. Fair enough. I mean, how will people know you’re giving them the Full Skeletor if they can’t even see you’re blue? He looks purple? I say hey, what’s going on?
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
