Nicholas Hoult
IN PHOTO: Actor Nicholas Hoult attends the "X-Men: Days of Future Past" world movie premiere in New York May 10, 2014. Reuters/Eric Thayer

Nicholas Hoult will reprise his role as Henry "Hank" Phillip McCoy, aka "Beast," in the upcoming 2016 film "X-Men: Apocalypse." Recently, the actor shared how he prepared for his character and how he's "branded" as Beast when in public.

In an interview with Collider, the British actor claimed he "researched" about his character for the movie. When asked what preparations he did to portray Beast, Nicholas Hoult revealed he had to watch cartoon shows to brush up on his knowledge about his character for "X-Men: Days of Future Past." Likewise, he reportedly also read the comics when he portrayed the role for the first time. "Part of my research then was to watch the cartoon, which is what I watched when I was a kid, so in prep for that film we'd read the comics, go work out—because obviously we have to try and look like we're in some sort of powerful mutant shape or whatever—and then I'd sit there and record X-Men cartoons," he said.

In jest, the actor also joked that watching the cartoon shows is technically still considered as work. Likewise, he admitted to have enjoyed reading the dark Beast stories. Nicholas Hoult also revealed people sometimes call him by his character's name in public. It's unexpected, he said, although he finds it also amusing.

"X-Men: Apocalypse" starts filming in Montreal next year. The sequel will reportedly focus on Beast's relationship with Mystique. According to International Business Times, Simon Kinberg described the couple's relationship to be interesting; thus, it would be revisited in the sequel. "The relationship between Beast and Mystique is a really interesting one that we didn't have a lot of time to explore in Days of Future Past, so we'll have an opportunity to do more of that in Apocalypse," he said.

It's even rumoured that Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), who broke up in August, will rekindle their romance on the set of "X-Men: Apocalypse." The couple reportedly broke up back in 2012 but got back together when they filmed "X-Men: Days of Future Past." Fans are supposedly hoping for a repeat of their dating history.