Rebecca Romijns tenure as Raven Darkhlme a.k.a. Mystique in the X-Men franchise included four feature films (and an uncredited cameo in a fifth) and two male directors who went on to be accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate set behavior.
Bryan Singer directed Romijn in X-Men, X2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past, while Brett Ratner took over filmmaking duties on X-Men: The Last Stand. Several men have accused Singer of sexual assault, while various X-Men actors have called Singer unprofessional on set. High-profile actors such as Olivia Munn, Elliot Page and Natasha Henstridge have alleged Ratner sexually harassed them and acted rudely toward them on set.
Despite many actors coming out publicly against Singer and Ratner over the years, Romijn has never joined the chorus of voices. Why? She told The Independent in a new interview that shes remained silent because she has nothing else to add on the topics.
I was not happy working with [Brett Ratner], Romijn said. But hes been cancelled. I havent spoken up about anything with regard to #MeToo, because I had two major issues with two directors Ive worked with and both of them already got theirs, one of them being Brett Ratner I didnt feel like I needed to say anything. I know the two people that I worked with had it coming, and they got theirs I dont need to say anything else.
While working with Ratner was a bad experience Romijn said he was the only person she felt comfortable publicly throwing under the bus the actor had a far better experience with Bryan Singer.
Hes a fantastic filmmaker, you know? It was amazing watching him work, Romijn said. And you have to decide if you want to try and separate those two things. I know that the other cast confronted him about things. But I was not a part of that. I wasnt there for it, so I cant really speak to it.
There was drama on set, and I witnessed it and I heard a lot about it, she continued. And he sometimes didnt come in prepared. But he would show up and, without any preparation whatsoever, direct the most awesome scene that he was able to put together because hes such a good filmmaker.
Several X-Men actors, from Jennifer Lawrence to Halle Berry, have spoken out publicly about Singers inappropriate set behavior over the years. Berry, who played Storm in Singers X-Men franchise,toldVarietyin 2020 that Bryans not the easiest dude to work with. Berry famously cursed out Singer on set one day and told him to kiss my Black ass.
Everybodys heard the stories, Berry said at the time. I would sometimes be very angry with him. I got into a few fights with him, said a few cuss words out of sheer frustration. When I work, Im serious about that. And when that gets compromised, I get a little nutty.
Brian Cox, who played the villainous Colonel William Stryker in 2003s X2:X-MenUnited, defended Singers set behavior in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment earlier this year. Cox said that Singer was under a lot of strain during the production of X2. Singers haphazard behavior often led to scenes being rewritten on the spot.
I think hes an extraordinary director really, really gifted Cox said of Singer. 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.
Hugh Jackman, who headlined the X-Men franchise for years as Wolverine, was asked by The Guardianas the start of the year if Singers unprofessional behavior tainted the X-Men legacy.
Theres a lot of things at stake there, Jackman said. X-Men was the turning point, I believe, in terms of comic-book movies and I think theres a lot to be proud of. And theres certainly questions to be asked and I think they should be asked. But I guess I dont know how to elegantly answer that. I think its complex and ultimately I look back with pride at what weve achieved and what momentum that started.
Head over to The Independents website to read Romijns latest profile in its entirety.