In the original X-Men trilogy, the field leader of Professor X’s mutants was Scott Summers, aka Cyclops (James Marsden), who also appeared briefly in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. With “X-Men: First Class” taking place in 1962, though, Scott has yet to be born. So the heroic mantle will fall to another member of the powerful clan – his brother, Alex.
Like Scott, Alex – aka Havok – has the ability to project beams of destructive energy, albeit from his body and not his eyes. And like Scott, Alex has trouble controlling those beams – trouble that puts him in a very dark place when he first comes to the attention of X-Men founders Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender).
Alex is played by relative newcomer Lucas Till, a 20 year old American actor previously best known for roles in the likes of “The Spy Next Door” and “The Hannah Montana Movie.”
Riding and maneuvering one of the film’s most eagerly anticipated sets was the X-Jet, based on the XB-70, a prototype long-range, supersonic bomber developed in the U.S. in the late 1950s, the immense structure which measures some eighty feet in length is Havok’s ride in the movie which Till finds comfy. “You could fall asleep in that thing, even when you go upside down,” he says of the X-Jet set.
Stressing that Havok comes with a K and not a C, Till shares how his character found his way into the X-Men class, “In this movie, he’s found in confinement because he can’t control his powers and accidentally or intentionally has killed people. We leave that ambiguous. He’s a nice kid, but some things have happened and they haven’t been good. So he’s got a serious guard up in front, but he’s a hero on the inside.”
“He’s the rebellious one. Definitely. And quiet. He’s a powder keg waiting to explode, metaphorically and literally. He’s always on the brink of destroying everything around him,” adds Till of his character’s temperament.
Till has a leading role in Battle: Los Angeles, and starred as young Jack Cash in the Oscar-winning film Walk the Line. Recently, Till guest-starred on the high profile primetime series, House, with Hugh Laurie.
“X-Men: First Class” opens June 2 (Thursday) in Philippine theaters from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. Visit 20th Century Fox (Philippines) on Facebook and on www.youtube.com/20thcenturyfoxph for promos and latest clips.
