Rebecca Romijn talks working with Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner on the X-Men movies
The Mystique actor says there was "drama" on set while working with Singer, but she had bigger problems with Ratner
There are history books to be written on just how cursed the X-Men movies have been, veering wildly between hits and disasters, with countless on-set horror stories, all so they could be completely overshadowed by a meta-X-Men movie making fun of X-Men movies and then be swallowed up by Disney. Now it looks like future historians can add a new chapter on Rebecca Romijn, who played Mystique in four of the X-Men movies (if you count the little winky cameo in First Class) and has now decided to talk to The Independent about her experiences working with both Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner.
Singer, who may be bankrolling his own comeback after years of misconduct allegations, has (among other things) been accused of inappropriate set behavior on his X-Men movies that supposedly once resulted in Hugh Jackman getting injured and, there are stories—denied by Singer’s camp—of a confrontation with most of the cast (in full costume) where Halle Berry famously told him to “kiss my Black ass.” Still, Brian Cox called him a “really, really gifted” filmmaker, and even Jackman recently refused to share any dirt on working with Singer beyond noting that things have “changed for the better” on sets. (The A.V. Club reached out to Singer for a comment, but has not heard back.)
Romijn, similarly, doesn’t want to say too much about Singer beyond confirming that “the other cast confronted him about things,” but she says that she wasn’t a part of that and “can’t really speak to it.” She does say that there was “drama on set,” and she “witnessed it” and “heard a lot about it,” adding that he would come to set “without any preparation whatsoever” but then still direct an “awesome scene.”
But Romijn has no interest in being so diplomatic about the other X-Men director she worked with, saying that she doesn’t “want to throw anyone under the bus… except for Brett Ratner.” In 2017, six women accused Ratner of sexual harassment and misconduct, with Romijn’s X-Men: The Last Stand co-star Elliot Page later sharing a story about inappropriate comments Ratner had made about him before filming began. Romijn told The Independent that Ratner is one of two directors she had “major issues with,” and “both them already got theirs.” She chose not to elaborate, but she did say that she “was not happy” working with Ratner, adding, “I don’t need to say anything else.”