X-Men star Nicholas Hoult has revealed he and his action hero franchise co-star, and former girlfriend, Jennifer Lawrence are 'like family'. The actor has revealed he and the academy-award winner 'grew up together' and that they are still close.

Nicholas HoultNicholas Hoult will star in X Men Dark Pheonix later this year

Hoult, 29, who will once again take the role of Henry "Hank" McCoy/Beast in the latest X Men, Dark Phoenix which comes out this summer, started dating Jennifer after meeting on the set of X-Men: First Class in 2010.

Lawrence, 28, plays Raven Darkhölme/Mystique and stayed together with British actor Hoult for around four years before splitting in 2014 - after they wrapped filming for sequel Days Of Future Past.

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Speaking to Evening Standard magazine, Hoult said, despite their romance, they remain on good terms.

He said: "It's pretty similar to Skins, we're a big family, we've been doing those movies since we were 20 years old.

"As much as the Skins crowd grew up together, the X-Men crowd really grew up together. It's been a good eight, nine years making those movies. We've all got to get along, we've all got to have fun.

"The really beautiful thing about this last film is that [writer and director] Kim Berger has given me somewhere nice and new to experiment and go with the character. Which is cool."

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Nicholas and Jennifer have also played lovebirds on-screen in the X-Men series; however, Hoult now has a new love in his life with model girlfriend, Bryana Holly - a baby girl.

Speaking about fatherhood, he said: "Having a baby puts you in this place where you go, oh, okay, this human is going to change a lot.

"It makes you value time differently, which is why I talk very quickly in interviews now, because I need to get home to them."