Highlights
- Alan Cumming says X2 cast stayed in touch over 20 years because they’re “bonded in trauma.”
- The actor cites X2‘s grueling makeup demands and difficult Bryan Singer shoot as factors.
- Cumming reprises Nightcrawler in Avengers: Doomsday, hitting theaters Dec. 18, 2026.
Alan Cumming is putting a name to the unexpected tie that’s kept him close to his X2: X-Men United costars for more than two decades — and it isn’t sentimentality.
The Emmy winner and Traitors host, who is reprising his role as the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler in Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, told PEOPLE at the TriBeCa Ball at the New York Academy of Art on April 20 that the bond formed during the 2003 sequel was forged in something far less glamorous than fond memory.
Cumming said that “we all were so traumatized we were bonded in trauma,” and that the shared ordeal is precisely why the cast has stayed in touch through the years.
The Scottish actor noted that he has remained especially close with several X2 alumni, including Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, and Rebecca Romijn. “I’m very chummy with Ian,” he said of his relationship with the legendary actor who played Magneto.
Reuniting with that group for Avengers: Doomsday felt remarkably different from the X2 production, however. Because of how modern blockbusters are now structured, Cumming explained that “we did it all sort of separately,” a stark contrast to the cramped, all-in-one-place atmosphere of early-2000s tentpole filmmaking.
That distance hasn’t diminished the meaning of the return. Cumming has described the experience of stepping back into Nightcrawler’s blue skin as a surprisingly healing one and credited the Russo Brothers for cultivating an environment in which everyone on set feels valued.
He told PEOPLE it was “really lovely to go back to something all those years later,” a sentiment underscored by his renewed appreciation for the character.
By contrast, for the original X2 shoot, Cumming has been transparent about the personal toll it took. He has long described the production as “miserable,” citing grueling demands such as enduring up to five hours per day in the makeup chair to achieve Nightcrawler’s signature blue, scar-etched look. He has also been openly critical of his experience working with director Bryan Singer.
Speaking previously to PEOPLE at the TIME100 Gala, Cumming said reprising the role made him think, “I really enjoyed playing this character,” a marked tonal shift from the bitter feelings he initially walked away from X2 with.
Avengers: Doomsday marks Cumming’s first appearance as Nightcrawler in over two decades. It was first announced in March 2026 that he would be among the original X-Men cast members suiting up for the new Marvel epic — a return that genuinely surprised fans given his frequent and often unflinching commentary about the original 2003 shoot.
The Joe and Anthony Russo–directed Doomsday is also bringing back fellow original-trilogy alums McKellen, Stewart, Marsden, Romijn and Kelsey Grammer, alongside an MCU heavy-hitter lineup that includes Anthony Mackie, Tom Hiddleston, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Channing Tatum, Danny Ramirez and Simu Liu. Robert Downey Jr. is also rejoining the franchise, this time taking on the mantle of Doctor Doom.
For Cumming, the entire experience has effectively been a full-circle moment — even if it took an infamously punishing shoot to get him and his costars there.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18, 2026.
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