There was some major excitement and early Oscar buzz after audiences got to see Samantha Morton chew up the scenery with her latest portrayal of a Greek myth sorceress, Circe, in Christopher Nolan‘s cinematic take on Homer’s “The Odyssey” (one of the first literary examples of a witch). There is now a bit of a revelation from the British actress that she had turned down a part in Bryan Singer‘s “X-Men” films in the early 2000s, something we don’t think is really common knowledge, and being recast in Spike Jonze‘s “Her.”
Speaking with Josh Horowitz on his fantastic podcast “Happy Sad Confused,” Morton couldn’t exactly figure out how to get into the idea of comic book movies, which is certainly fair given the genre outside of “Batman” was still struggling to find that balance of heroics and grounded elements. That could explain why she didn’t end up landing that unnamed part in “X-Men.”
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“I think it was really, really early on…I would question some of those movies….I wasn’t into comic books growing up, so I read the script, and I didn’t understand it. I didn’t want to go there, into that world. This must have been 2001 or 2002—the first ‘X-Men.’”
She then broadened the point about those movies just not being for her, as the age gaps between male and female co-stars weren’t exactly a thrilling prospect. Also, giving a potential clue that she might have been in early consideration for Jean Grey or Mystique (who was paired with Ian McKellen‘s Magneto, even though they weren’t exactly romantic).
“That was the case with quite a few films at that point—much older male stars and much younger partners. I didn’t believe it.”
Some should remember that there was this big pivot on Spike Jonze’s “Her,” as Morton had been originally cast as the voice of the A.I. partner, Samantha, in the movie, only to be recast with Scarlett Johansson in the sci-fi romantic dramedy, and she explains her feelings on all of that, which was “sad.”
“I have to say that it’s every director’s prerogative in regard to the final cut of the film. For any job, you’re never guaranteed to be in it in the end. But with that, I was surprised. A little sad would be an understatement…The time I had on set with Joaquin [Phoenix], working with Spike on the script and finding Samantha, and all the work that we did was really special. We did some mad stuff. They designed and built a booth for me to record all my sound. I would be in this black, padded phone box, or I’d be in the trunk of a car. I think my version of Samantha was very different. She’s English. Scarlett Johansson has a beautiful voice; she’s incredibly evocative. I got it, but I was sad. It does hurt when you’re fired from something. What I would have wished for was another chance in a booth to do an American accent. But Scarlett Johansson—I mean, come on.”
We have to assume that since “Her” was sort of Jonze’s response to his ex-wife Sofia Coppola‘s film “Lost In Translation,” having Johansson as a connective element was more of a factor than simply wanting to remove someone on a whim.
Ultimately, she did end up doing big-event genre work around that time with Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise‘s “Minority Report,” playing one of the precogs in the film trying to help clear Cruise’s character of murder charges for a crime he didn’t commit. Oddly enough, that movie had morphed from a direct sequel to “Total Recall” into a Spielberg project after the studio Carolco went bankrupt in the 1990s. Maybe Marvel Studios will come calling for their new “X-Men,” as there are plenty of mutant roles for a spectrum of ages.
Feel free to watch that full exchange with Morton and Horowitz on those topics above and even more.
