Alan Cumming Accidentally Injured Pedro Pascal on 'Avengers: Doomsday' Set

Openly bisexual actor and host Alan Cumming has disclosed that he accidentally injured Pedro Pascal during filming for the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday, briefly sending the fellow star home from set with a neck issue.

Cumming recounted the incident during a recent appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! , where he was promoting his work and discussing his long‑awaited return as mutant teleporter Nightcrawler, a role he first played in 2003’s X2: X‑Men United.

Speaking to host Jimmy Kimmel, Cumming said that during his first scene with Pascal on Avengers: Doomsday, the actor was hurt and had to leave set. “What was funny was my first scene with Pedro, he hurt his neck and had to go home. So I broke Pedro, ” Cumming told the late‑night audience, describing the mishap in joking terms.

When Kimmel asked whether the injury happened during a fight scene, Cumming clarified that there was no fight choreography involved in that particular moment. He said he was “just sort of… being” in the scene with Pascal and was not engaged in onscreen combat when Pascal’s neck was hurt.

Cumming went on to explain that Pascal received treatment that included cupping therapy, a practice that uses suction on the skin, to ease his discomfort. The actor shared that Pascal later showed him the cupping marks at their hotel a couple of nights after the incident, suggesting that the injury, while serious enough to pause filming, was managed and not long‑term.

The Scottish performer also briefly mentioned elements of their characters’ costumes and physicality, joking about Pascal’s “big long arms” and noting that he himself did not have Nightcrawler’s tail on during the scene, while Pascal also did not have his character’s extended arms in place at that moment. These comments were interpreted by genre outlets as playful references to their Marvel roles rather than detailed plot revelations, as Cumming remained careful to avoid major spoilers about the film.

In earlier comments from May 2024, Cumming had told interviewers that he was learning stunt choreography for Avengers: Doomsday and that he had been informed he would be “hitting Pedro Pascal against the head” in a fight sequence, though he expressed disbelief at the idea. Those remarks have led some entertainment outlets to connect the training to the later‑revealed on‑set injury, while acknowledging that Cumming’s more recent description involved a non‑fight scene.

Avengers: Doomsday, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, is scheduled for theatrical release on December 18, 2026, and will bring together characters from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Fantastic Four, and the earlier X‑Men film series.

The ensemble cast includes Pedro Pascal, who has been reported as taking on the role of Reed Richards, also known as Mister Fantastic, alongside a large roster of returning and new heroes.

For LGBTQ+ audiences, Cumming’s return as Nightcrawler adds another layer of interest to a franchise that has frequently been read as an allegory for marginalized identities, including queer and transgender experiences. X‑Men storylines about fear, persecution, and chosen family have historically resonated with many LGBTQ+ viewers, who see parallels between mutant metaphors and real‑world struggles for equality and safety.

Cumming has long been open about his bisexual identity and has spoken in past interviews about the importance of visibility and complexity for queer characters and performers in mainstream media, including superhero franchises. His presence in a high‑profile Marvel project at a time when many LGBTQ+ people remain underrepresented in blockbuster films is seen by some advocates as a positive sign for continued inclusion, even when the characters themselves are not explicitly written as queer.

Although Avengers: Doomsday has not been marketed primarily as an LGBTQ+ story, the combination of Cumming’s visibility, the X‑Men’s longstanding connection to queer readings, and Pedro Pascal’s broad support among LGBTQ+ fans has generated anticipation within community spaces online. Commenters on social media have celebrated the reunion of legacy X‑Men actors and expressed excitement about seeing both performers share the screen, while also taking Cumming’s story about the set injury as a light‑hearted reminder of the physical demands placed on actors in large‑scale action films.

Neither Marvel Studios nor Pascal has publicly issued a separate statement on the injury, which was described by Cumming in interview as an on‑set mishap rather than a production‑halting accident, and reporting to date indicates that filming continued after Pascal recovered.