Brian Cox defends Bryan Singer’s on-set behavior during X2

Director Bryan Singer has had quite the fall from grace, with his entire reputation–whatever it really was–dismantled soon after numerous accusations of sexual misconduct came out in the mid-2010s. But there are still some that defend Bryan Singer, like actor Brian Cox, who worked with him on X2.

In a new interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Cox–who played William Stryker in the 2003 sequel X2–came to the defense of the normally defenseless Bryan Singer, also praising the movie (a far less bold move). “I’m biased, but I think of all the X-Men movies, that’s probably the best one…It’s my favorite of those films.” Cox added, “One of his great things was that when he came to a new set, he would have to rethink it…He’d have a thought, and then have to rethink [the scene]. So that was always a difficult transition for him. But once he cracked it, he cracked it very quickly and was able to get on with it.” Cox drove it home by saying that Bryan Singer was “under a lot of strain” while making X2.

This is a clear defense of Bryan Singer, who has come under fire numerous times from his cast, more recently from Jennifer Lawrence, who said his behavior often resulted in “hissy fits” on the set. Halle Berry, who played Storm multiple times in the series, has been one of the most vocal to speak out against Bryan Singer, at one point telling him on the set of X2 to “kiss my black ass.” While co-star Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) didn’t tell Singer to kiss anything in particular, he did previously say that this particular quote stemmed from an incident that led to a sort of showdown in Singer’s trailer, with the group also including Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine). Jackman wouldn’t completely blast Singer but would go on to say that the production was “complicated” and, “I think there are some ways of being on set that would not happen now.”

Bryan Singer’s last full credit is, interestingly enough, in the X-Men franchise, back with 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse. He was replaced on 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody but still has directing credit and was removed entirely from 2019’s Dark Phoenix following the allegations.

How do you feel about Brian Cox’s defense of Bryan Singer and his on-set behavior during the making of X2?