The highly anticipated X-Men: Days of Future Past movie hits theaters today and we had a chance to catch up with actor Adan Canto. Known for the television show The Following, Canto makes the leap to the big screen, playing Sunspot in Bryan Singer’s latest X-Men film. Canto’s character is a Brazilian mutant who possesses the ability to absorb and channel solar power. In Singer’s universe, Sunspot is the leader of the Gene Nation. When Canto originally heard about the new X-Men movie, he was filming The Following. He remembers, ” We were able to get a meeting with the casting directors and read for the roles. When I found out that I got the role it was amazing. It was exciting. I’ve always been a fan of the movies.” Addressing the movie’s premise of time, Canto recalls finding the script a “little confusing” but at the end of the day it made sense, “it’s a very well-rounded world.”
Revisiting popular mutants as they are getting their powers and learning how to control them, the movie finds room for humor. “All superheroes have their own story lines and you have to go back and understand where they are coming from.” Canto adds, “Researching the role, I knew what they [production] were going to expect and what they wanted.” Before acting, Canto lived in Mexico City where he was into music. Reflecting on that time, he shares “I decided that I needed a platform to sorta blow of some steam…you know? I needed something where I could exert a lot of energy.” It looks like his wishes came true with an exciting superhero movie driven by action. Completely embracing his role as Sunspot, Canto confesses, “I had a stunt double but I didn’t want to go and just stand on the sidelines. After 5 minutes, I was like ‘no please let me’. It was a new experience, but it took me back to when I was 7 years-old just going all out. I’m a pretty physical guy and do a lot of outdoors sports so fortunately I was in shape.” Now that the movie is out, Canto can reflect on the experience, “Learning from all these great actors was amazing and at the premiere, you really get the extent of how big this movie is and the appreciation that fans have for the world of X-Men.”
