20 Actors You Didn't Know Almost Played X-Men

15. Neil Patrick Harris Was Almost Nightcrawler

Though Alan Cumming was an exceptional Nightcrawler - chosen in the end at least partly because he spoke fluent German - it still feels like something of a missed opportunity that one of the other actors who auditioned for the role wasn't ultimately chosen. Neil Patrick Harris was yet to really enjoy the resurgence in his career afforded by the likes of the Harold & Kumar movies and his show-stealing role on How I Met Your Mother, but that didn't stop him from auditioning for the key role in X2.

It was Cumming who was chosen at the audition stage, and who was transformed by the rigorous make-up and prosthetics, but it's still very much possible to imagine the former Doogie Howser under the same costume, especially given his theatrical background, and the comic sensibilities that he has subsequently proven in later roles.

Unfortunately, neither Cumming nor Harris would make it to the final sequel, or to Days Of Future Past as the crew and the former actor initially deemed the character not worth the preparation for the pay-off, and then Bryan Singer dropped plans to bring him back for the time-hopping sequel when he suspected he was double-stuffing the mutants already.