Kodi Smit-McPhee on Nightcrawler in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE.

Superhero Hype caught up with 18 yo actor Kodi Smit-McPhee who plays a younger version of Nightcrawler in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE.

The actor says he connected with director Bryan Singer early on and became his first choice for the role. “I just had a meeting with Bryan Singer and we hit it off and spoke a lot about our own interests in quantum physics and the spiritual world, so we hit it off, and then I just did an audition and they were saying, ‘Bryan wanted you the whole time [for Nightcrawler] so let’s get the auditions done with.’ I can’t wait to connect up with him on set. It will be such a different environment.”

Smit-McPhee says he’s looking at all iterations of Nightcrawler for his performance, researching the comics, cartoons and the previous portrayal by Alan Cumming in X2. “I don’t try to avoid it [imitating Alan Cumming], and I don’t try to keep it in mind. I just let things come naturally. Because it is the Marvel Universe and X-Men and there are a lot of people expecting a lot of things, I did a huge amount of research on anyone who has portrayed it and even in the comics and the cartoons and live action. I just followed Nightcrawler’s story. I feel very honored and grateful to be expressing that now. I can’t wait.

“They have the ability to bring these younger characters in now, so I think a lot of the people who know the traditional origins of where this came from will be very happy.”