Professor X is one of the most iconic of Marvel’s X-Men, and Christopher Abbott has been cast as him for the MCU – but how much do you know about him?
The X-Men are some of Marvel’s most beloved and iconic characters, and, after many years of waiting, they are poised to fully join the MCU in the coming years.
Some characters have already appeared in cameos in recent MCU movies including, most recently, Jean Grey in – spoiler alert! – Spider-man: Brand New Day. This is ahead of them fully appearing in upcoming movies.
As part of this, some castings for X-Men have already been announced – see here for more on what we know – and more names were announced in the past few days. One of the most eye-catching castings came as Christopher Abbott was announced as Professor X – or Charles Xavier – the leader of the X-Men and a powerful mutant.
Abbott has large boots to fill. Sir Patrick Stewart played Professor X in the original X-Men movies of the noughties and early 10s, and her performance has set a high benchmark for the character.
But how much do you know about Christopher Abbott? Here are some facts you might not know.
He worked in a video shop before he started acting
Christopher came relatively late to acting. It was during his college years in Connecticut that he took his first acting classes and really started to get the bug for it. While in college, Christopher had a series of jobs, including at a video store and in a wine shop run by his friend. However, he gave those up when he moved to New York City in 2006 to pursue acting.
His first acting jobs were on the stage
After moving to New York to study acting, Christopher also started going to open casting calls for plays. His first acting job was an off-Broadway play called Good Boys and True, which opened in Spring 2008. The second play he appeared in, Mouth to Mouth, opened in the autumn of 2008. He received positive reviews for his performances in both plays.
He starred with Elizabeth Olsen in his first movie
However, Christopher would have to wait until 2011 to make his debut in a movie. His first on-screen appearance was in the drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, which also starred Elizabeth Olsen. It premiered at that year’s Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews.
His big break was in Girls
But it was in 2012 that Christopher started to get widespread recognition when he landed the role of Charlie Dattolo, the boyfriend of Marnie (played by Allison Williams) in the HBO comedy-drama Girls.
Christopher played the role of Charlie for two seasons before quitting, saying he couldn’t relate to the character. However, he did return for a one off appearance in season five.
He didn’t let injury stop him
After leaving Girls, Christopher took on a variety of roles on stage and on the big screen. But, when injury struck him during his run in the off-Broadway play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea in late 2023, he decided the show must go on.
In the play, in which he starred opposite Aubrey Plaza, he tore his meniscus during a performance – the injury was so bad that he required surgery. But that didn’t stop him – he soon returned to the role and completed the show’s run on crutches.
Christopher has recently become a father
Christopher is in a relationship with fellow actor Aubrey. They met in 2019 when they were in the film Black Bear, but didn’t become a couple until 2025.
It was announced earlier this year that Aubrey was pregnant with their first child, and their daughter was born in July. Details of the name etc have not been made public.
