Giancarlo Esposito desperately wants to play Professor X —but there’s a catch

Giancarlo Esposito wants to try his hand at the role of Professor X, the leader of the X-Men, but there’s one thing holding him back.

If there’s one thing actor Giancarlo Esposito can do well, it’s having the ability to play a spine-chilling villain with case.

Whether he’s playing a cold-blooded meth kingpin in Breaking Bad or a corrupt CEO in charge of superheroes in The Boys, Esposito is known as one of the best villain actors on TV.

However, it seems like he wants to change course and play a hero for once as he recently revealed that he would like to step into the role of X-Men leader Professor X. However, there’s one big thing holding him back from ever taking the role.

Esposito wants to change Professor X’s most defining feature

While appearing on Amon Warmann’s Fade to Black podcast, Esposito once again expressed his interest in playing Professor X, which he first made fans aware of in 2022 when he revealed that he had met with Marvel to discuss potential roles in upcoming films.

When asked by Warmann if he still wanted the role of Professor X, Esposito eagerly confirmed he did, but then threw a curveball by explaining that he wanted to change one fundamental aspect of the character.

“[I think] it would be great to play Professor X in some other incarnation than just the wheelchair, right?” Esposito said, “Because the physical idea of being in a wheelchair every single day does not appeal to me. I just don’t feel that old and I don’t like to sit that much. But certainly we could figure something out. Maybe. Professor X wasn’t always in the wheelchair, but that is part of his character development.”

Marvel

Professor X is canonically bound to a wheelchair and can be seen in one in about every live-action X-Men film except in 2011’s X-Men: First Class.

However, Professor X has been seen walking around in the comics since his appearance in 2006’s X-Men: Deadly Genesis, so Esposito’s condition to play the role wouldn’t be that much of a stretch for the character.