Years after her last performance as Mystique, former X-Men star Jennifer Lawrence went into detail about her negative experience working with director/producer Bryan Singer.
Before the X-Men joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lawrence became the second actress to play the role of Mystique under director Bryan Singer, with whom she worked on three of her four Fox movies in the 2010s. But following her exit, Lawrence hasn’t had the most complimentary things to say about her time on set for those movies.
One of her biggest complaints came from her costume that she had to wear when she reverted to her blue form, for which she chided the studio after not taking her basic working requirements into account. On top of that, she also had to deal with Singer’s well-publicized misconduct on set, which many of her co-stars have spoken out about during Disney’s aquisition of 20th Century Fox.
Now, Lawrence has shared more about her past with Singer, letting fans in on how difficult her experience was with him on set.
Jennifer Lawrence Shades Former Director Bryan Singer
Speaking at a roundtable hosted by The Hollywood Reporter, former Mystique star Jennifer Lawrence threw shade at X-Men producer/director Bryan Singer as she chatted with actresses Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Williams, Claire Foy, Emma Corrin, and Danielle Deadwyler.
Lawrence specifically touched on working with female directors, which she explained to be easier for her than it is working with male directors in her line of work:
THR: “That is interesting that there are at least three female directors that made that choice. Is it easier to get a film with a female director made now than it used to be?”
Lawrence: “Easier than it used to be, yes.”
THR: Yeah, still hard. I mean, you produced Causeway, so I assume you had some…”
Lawrence: “We did and… it was making me laugh when we were talking about the hours and stuff, because it was just so interesting to be on a female-led movie.”
Looking back to her work on 2022’s Causeway, she enjoyed the fact that “there were no huge fights” on set for any reason, mostly due to Lawrence and her partner making sure to work out their disagreements reasonably:
“My producing partner and I were the lead producers on it, we had a female director, the schedule made sense, there were no huge fights. If an actor had a personal thing… and wanted to leave early instead of going, ‘Oh, well, we’d all love to leave early.’ [Instead], we put our heads together and go, ‘Okay, how can we figure this out.’ We disagreed… and we listened to each other’s point of views. Sometimes I was wrong and would learn that I was wrong, and sometimes I was right.”
Moving the topic to toxic masculinity, she specifically mentioned X-Men director Bryan Singer and remembered seeing “the biggest hissy fits [she’s] ever seen thrown on set” from “emotional men” she’s worked with:
“And it was incredible to not be around toxic masculinity, to get a little break from it. And… it did always just kind of make us laugh about how we are, you know, how we ended up with… you know, ‘Women shouldn’t be in roles like this, because we’re just so emotional…’ And I have seen… I mean, I’ve worked with Bryan Singer. I’ve seen emotional men, I’ve seen… the biggest hissy fits I’ve ever seen thrown on set… She’s, I think, my third female director and she’s… they are the calmest, best decision-makers I’ve ever worked with. I absolutely love working with female directors. But yes, it’s getting easier.”
Will Lawrence Take on New Marvel Role?
Bryan Singer’s misconduct on set has been discussed at length over the past few years as the movie industry reforms its practices to make sure work environments are as safe and healthy as possible. And in Lawrence’s case, her time working with Singer showed her some of the worst of what the industry offered in that regard, although she seems to have moved on well with new collaborators in the time since.
While Singer hasn’t has a job in Hollywood since 2019’s Dark Phoenix and FX’s The Gifted, Lawrence has expanded her resume into the producing world while continuing her work as an actress.
Many have wondered whether Lawrence will take on another Marvel role in the MCU, with rumors even pointing to her being in the running for Sue Storm in Fantastic Four in early 2021. And while she hasn’t spoken much about a potential return to the superhero world, her bad memories with Singer are helping her move forward to new heights as an actress.
All of Jennifer Lawrence’s appearances as Mystique are available to stream on Disney+.
