When X Men: Apocalypse filmmaker Bryan Singer showed Patrick Stewart via Facetime, that James McAvoy was shaving his head for the role of Charles Xavier in the film, Stewart reportedly said "Save some of that hair for me!"
McAvoy shaved his head for X-Men: Apocalypse.
He plays the younger version of a character still largely defined by Stewart's portrayal, of course, but a warm critical reception and the box office success of X-Men: Days of Future Past indicates that McAvoy is largely out from under the shadow.
X-Men: Apocalypse is the ninth film in the X-Men franchise, and the fourth to be directed by Bryan Singer. The film features a screenplay by Simon Kinberg, and stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Olivia Munn, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Lucas Till, Josh Helman, Lana Condor and Ben Hardy.