OnlyOnAOL: Evan Peters, who's Quicksilver in 'X-Men,' goes on the run

By: Donna Freydkin

You know him as Quicksilver, the mutant with super-speed, from the "X-Men" comics.

Evan Peters plays the character, who has a major set piece in "X-Men: Apocalypse," opening Friday; this time it pits Apocalypse, risen from the dead and seemingly unstoppable, and his crew against the good mutants who side with Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy). And lest you wonder what it takes to create those dazzling action scenes, Peters breaks it down for you.

"It can be difficult to shoot those sequences. It took 17 days for two minutes of film," says Peters, adding that the end result was "pretty amazing."

His goal, and that of director Bryan Singer, was to match and outdo the pizzazz of the sensational kitchen sequence from "X-Men: Days of Future Past," which left utensils suspended in air while Quicksilver raced around saving his friends.

"This time they wrote one similar to that one but bigger and harder to do. I was hoping that it would be just as good. You don't want to let down the fans," says Peters.

In fact, he's one of the series' standouts. The actor broke out as merciless killer Tate Langdon in the first season of the FX anthology "American Horror Story." He's also co-starred in the horror film "The Lazarus Effect," about bringing the dead back to life, and played Dwight Chapin, Richard Nixon's deputy assistant, in "Elvis & Nixon."

He approaches the scope of the "X-Men" films the same way he does smaller projects, by focusing on the character. "I just come in there and try to have fun with it. I try not to screw it up basically. I'm still trying to figure out if I do anything more than that," he says.

He also reconnects with his inner toddler. "When you're a kid, you want to be a superhero, so you just channel that inner child. Basically, pretend that you can run fast. It's really fun. That's how I approach it," he says.

Does he ever dwell on the expectations surrounding this latest film? Sure, it's only human.

"It's hard. I get very nervous. I don't want to screw it up. It's a fine line. You care but you can't care so much that it freezes you. You have to let that go. Everyone wants to make the best film that they can," says Peters.

At least this time, he has it relatively easy compared to Apocalypse, the immortal mega-mutant played by the immensely gifted Oscar Isaac in full costume.

"Oh my god, Oscar had it the worst this year. He was pretty much in full makeup and wardrobe the whole time, and a 50-pound suit. Four hours of makeup. It was pretty extensive," says Peters.