James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender Give Elder 'X-Men' Co-Stars Bromantic Run for Their Money

The bond among the X-Men: Days of Future Past cast members is a strong one, as we saw from the warm and fuzzy rapport on display at today’s London premiere. But it wasn’t just between known chums Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, but also between James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, who of course play younger versions of the Stewart’s Professor X and McKellen’s Magneto, respectively.

When McAvoy was asked during the Yahoo Movies live-streamed event whether fans of his onscreen chemistry with Fassbender would ever transition to an actual kiss between the two real-life friends, the Scottish actor admitted that the two have only shared “air kisses and eskimo kisses,” but joked that Fassbender has to try harder before he’ll consider the real thing.

"He can keep trying," McAvoy said. "He’s going to have to buy me dinner a few times more first."

Fassbender responded to the same question not with words, but by singing the opening bars of the 1970s ballad "Sometimes When We Touch," doubly appropriate given the fact that it’s a love song and McAvoy and Fassbender’s Days of Future Past storyline takes place in the '70s.

Speaking to the film’s futuristic plot line, which is anchored by the film’s other bromantic duo of Stewart and McKellen, McAvoy and Fassbender set all joking aside to pay respect to the two veteran thespians who originated their roles.

[Related: Jennifer Lawrence Reveals How She Got Her X-Men Co-Stars to Punch Each Other]

"They’re two of the finest actors working today," McAvoy said of Stewart and McKellen. "Being next to them, being in the same movie with them is a real honor."

Fassbender added that he considers the work of both actors to be the best of the best, that they are from “a generation that is gold dust for actors.”

"Hopefully in the next one we’ll get to go head-to-head and have a scene together," Fassbender said of McKellen. "He’s so brilliant. I’m just trying to keep up and literally steal whatever I can from him."

Speaking of stealing material, McAvoy could’ve used Stewart’s X-pertise when it came to handling Professor Xavier’s wheelchair.

"There is no brake on it, you just have to take your finger off the power and gauge when it stops," McAvoy explained. "I didn’t actually ask Sir Patrick how he used to get on in it but I knocked a few people over in it. You know that bridge that goes out in Cerebro? I do think I knocked Hugh Jackman off it once, obviously [deliberately because] he was getting way too much camera time."

[Related: How Jennifer Lawrence’s Easier X-Men Costume Might Lead to Mystique Spinoff]

Shared screen time or not, Stewart and McKellen said they enjoy passing the baton in Days of Future Past, and Stewart said he hopes they make room for them in the next installment, 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse.

"They’re called 'X-Men movies,'" Stewart said with a smile when asked if he’ll return. "How can you have X-Men movies without Professor Xavier?"

(Photos: Tim P. Whitby/Getty)