X-Men: All 5 Professor X actors ranked from worst to best

Professor Charles Xavier, the man behind the X-Men, is one of the great characters in the comic book world. A legend of Marvel Comics, he first made his debut in 1963, showing up to lead the X-Men into the history books.

To describe Charles as the brains of the operation might be a little on-the-nose, but even then, it's understating the facts. A mutant with limitless telepathic abilities, he designed a machine called Cerebro, which enhances his powers, magnifying them when necessary and often helping him track down any mutant he wishes to find. He is also a fan of teaching mutants how to use their own abilities, both through the X-Men and his public job as a leader at his own school for gifted youngsters titled Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach.

With a character as popular and beloved as Professor X, you can bet that he has been adapted into movies and television over the years. The X-Men may not have had as many live-action portrayals as some of their fellow famous heroes, but that's only because the long-running Fox film series was so successful. Patrick Stewart's portrayal of Professor X was indeed a game changer, but this is one character who had more live-action appearances than you might expect. And that's not even taking into account how some of his animated outings are part of revolutionary shows.

On that note, let's take a look at all of the actors to play Professor X and decide which one portrayed him the best.