London - X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn said that James McAvoy was "perfect" to play a superhero.
Matthew - who directed the X-Men prequel with a budget of $120m - said he had always wanted James to play the part of Professor X but was concerned he got annoyed when he made him screen test against a number of people to play Magneto.
He said: "When we talked about who could play Professor X, I thought McAvoy was perfect. He was top of my list.
Annoyed
"I think he got pretty annoyed at me, because I made him audition with every single actor who came in to play Magneto. I was wheeling him in every day saying, 'You've got to read with this actor, or this other actor', and then when Michael (Fassbender) came in, after twenty seconds of the two of them together I was like, 'OK, I've found Magneto'."
Matthew also said that seeing the chemistry between actors before starting filming was "really, really important" - and revealed his modest views on his own work.
He added to HeyuGuys.co.uk: "It normally takes me about a year to know whether I'm proud of a film.
"I love the X-Men world, so for me, looking at comics was fun. People are always asking, 'What's your style as a filmmaker?' and it's very simple. I just want to tell a story, and every shot keeps that narrative drive moving on."