‘X-Men’ Star Alan Cumming Calls ‘X2’ The ‘Gayest’ Film He’s Ever Made

Former X-Men star Alan Cumming dubbed the X2 sequel the “gayest film I’ve ever done.” The comments came during a promotion for the reality competition series The Traitor, which Cumming hosts in his home nation of Scotland. Season three is set to feature Dylan Efron, Sam Asghari and Tom Sandoval.

Cumming, 59, told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s got a queer director, lots of queer actors in it. I love the fact that something so mainstream and so in the comic book world is so queer.”

The Scottish actor added that the film’s premise is “an allegory about queerness.” He explained the characters’ need to hide their powers and true identity to protect themselves from the world is something that queer people understand and relate to. 

“I think, in a way, those sorts of films really help people understand queerness, because you can address it in an artistic way, and everyone is less scared of the concept,” Cumming said.

X2, directed by Bryan Singer, was first released in 2003 as a sequel to 2000’s X-Men, the first movie that solidified Hugh Jackman‘s role as the famous Wolverine. Cumming, who plays Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawlers, a mutant with teleportation abilities, in the film, is openly bisexual. He came out in 1998 at 33-years-old. 

Singer is also bisexual, previously stating that his sexuality influences his film. The director has faced controversy for the alleged assault of several minors. In 2019, actor Rami Malek, star of Bohemian Rhapsody, directed by Singer, said his experience was “not pleasant.”