Oscar Isaac on finding the right look for Apocalypse in 'X-Men'

Oscar Isaac is basically fanboy royalty now. The actor is not only starring in Star Wars but he is also playing the titular villain in next summer’s X-Men: Apocalypse. “I mean, I’m a fanboy, so it’s like I’m having a great time,” says Isaac. “I love Star Wars. I love X-Men, so to be able to play in those worlds and contribute to it, those things mean so much because they’re very personal.”

In the latest X-Men installment, due May 27, 2016, ancient mutant Apocalypse is unearthed after 5,000 years and recruits four mutants—Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Angel (Ben Hardy)—to reboot the world through destruction.

Isaac has been a fan of the series since he was a kid. “I grew up reading the comics and I actually collected X Factor when I was younger and that was when Apocalypse first showed up,” the actor told EW on the set of Apocalypse. “And I was particularly freaked out with like the second coming and the end of the world, the apocalypse, so when there was a character that embodied that, and even from Sunday school, I remember the four horsemen and all that kind of imagery that’s still to this day some of the scariest imagery I can think of.”

Creating the look of Apocalypse was a group effort and required a few iterations in order for the blue mutant to make it to the screen. “We had to do some adjustments here and there and be like, alright, maybe this is too alien,” says Isaac, who endures two hours of makeup for the look. “He also is someone who people would want to follow and not just be terrified of. So the balance, and then making sure that there’s some great elements from the comic but also making our own thing as well. In the comic, he generally is like 12 feet, 600 pounds.”

Without giving too much away, Isaac does say he gets to do some pretty badass things in Apocalypse. “I mean that last battle is going to be pretty insane. I mean, it’s like freaking Apocalypse fighting all of the X-Men. It’s pretty cool.”

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To continue reading the cover story on X-Men: Apocalypse, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands Friday.