Jordan Karlesson
Hollywood used to gently dabble on occasion with computer-generated imagery. Now the film industry is practically beholden to technology. But the transfer isn’t complete just yet — some films still rely heavily on old-school materials like prosthetics and practical effects. Just ask Jennifer Lawrence and what she underwent in order to play the role of Mystique in four X-Men movies.
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Jennifer Lawrence: The Best Thing to Happen to Hollywood Since Julia Roberts?
Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most universally liked and admired actors to surface in Hollywood in the past 20 years. Born in a city in Kentucky with fewer than 3,000 residents, Lawrence hasn’t lost her down-to-earth, relatable personality — or let all the success she’s accrued go to her head.
Sure, it’d be ridiculous to say any actor doesn’t have at least some degree of ego. Hell, we all do, but Lawrence’s naturalistic sensibility is part of her appeal. One could even make the case that the 32-year-old actor has swagger.
Case in point: Last month, she became the latest actor to speak publicly about the disparity in pay between men and women. Lawrence says she received a much smaller paycheck than Leonardo DiCaprio for acting in Don’t Look Up.
Or, to put it in more colorful terms, as Jennifer Lawrence told Vogue: “I’m still not going to get paid as much as that guy, because of my vagina?”
That’s as straight as talk can get from the highest-paid female actor in 2015 and 2016. And maybe that’s why she was cool with keeping it real when she joined the X-Men.
The X-Men Lose Their Mystique — but Gain a New One
It’s no small feat to keep straight all the characters and actors who play them (as young adults and as grown-ups) in the X-Men franchise. But the rotating cast of characters and actors is endemic to the franchise. The central theme of which is the concept of transformation (or mutation, if you will).
To illustrate the point, the first four X-Men movies featured Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, the shapeshifting supervillain who plays a pivotal role in virtually every evil scheme. Romijn portrayed the character, also known as Raven Darkhölme, in X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).
Additionally, Romijn had an uncredited cameo in 2011’s X-Men: First Class — the same film that saw Jennifer Lawrence climb into the skin-tight blue suit (intended to be Mystique’s skin) for the first time.
Bear in mind that, up to this point, Lawrence hadn’t yet seized the limelight with her turn as Katniss in the hugely successful Hunger Games blockbuster trilogy. In 2011, her biggest credit was as the star of a gritty, low-budget indie film (2010’s critically lauded Winter’s Bone).
Nonetheless, Jennifer Lawrence committed to the role of Mystique for three movies after First Class. They were X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Dark Phoenix (2019).
Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique: The Real Deal
Parents who insist their kids learn the value of hard work early in life will appreciate Jennifer Lawrence’s dedication to one of her earliest roles, as Mystique.
Jennifer Lawrence told Entertainment Tonight in a May 2014 interview that she frequently practiced yoga to ensure a solid performance playing Mystique. But that was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of her preparation for the role.
Lawrence’s physical transformation for the role went beyond exercise and dieting, she pointed out.
“The way that Mystique moves, kind of lizardy-like,” Lawrence told ET. “So lots of yoga, and learning to move in the exact opposite way that I move my body.”
And then there was the make-up. According to a behind-the-scenes video that’s on YouTube, Jennifer Lawrence had to get to the movie set at 2 a.m. so the crew could slather the nude actor with makeup, latex, and body paint on her for eight hours.
Yeah, you read that right. Eight hours. According to a Business Insider report from May 2014, Lawrence later revealed she stood or sat on a bicycle the entire time.
The amount of time shrank, however, as Jennifer Lawrence revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in May 2014. She said the crew mastered the process so well that what used to take eight hours only took three.
Also, let’s not forget that Romijn underwent the same torturous, eight-hour process when she had to get in costume to play the sexy supervillain.
In closing, we’ll leave you with a classic J-Law quote, which she provided to Business Insider: “”I know that everyone feels sorry for me, but it’s so much fun. It’s like a sleepover, except I’m naked and getting painted.”
