James McAvoy

At 44 years old, James McAvoy has this physical status:

James McAvoy Jr. (born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor.

He made his acting debut as a teen in The Near Room (1995) and made mostly television appearances until 2003, when his feature film career began.

His notable television work includes the thriller State of Play and the science fiction mini-series Frank Herbert's Children of Dune.

He has performed in several West End productions and received three nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, and has also done voice work for animated films including Gnomeo & Juliet, its sequel, Sherlock Gnomes, and Arthur Christmas. In 2003, McAvoy appeared in a lead role in Bollywood Queen.

This was followed by a supporting role, the faun Mr. Tumnus, in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).

His performance in Kevin Macdonald's drama The Last King of Scotland (2006) garnered him several award nominations, including the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The critically acclaimed romantic drama war film Atonement (2007) earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination and his second BAFTA nomination.

He later appeared as a newly trained assassin in the action thriller Wanted (2008). In 2011, McAvoy played Professor Charles Xavier in the superhero film X-Men: First Class (2011), a role he reprised in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018) and Dark Phoenix (2019).

McAvoy starred in the crime comedy-drama film Filth (2013), for which he won Best Actor in the British Independent Film Awards.

In 2016, he portrayed Kevin Crumb, a man with 23 alternate personalities, in M.Night Shyamalan's Split, for which he received critical acclaim, and later reprised the role for the 2019 sequel Glass.

Early life

McAvoy was born on 21 April 1979 in Glasgow, to bus-driver-turned-builder James McAvoy Sr. and psychiatric nurse Elizabeth (née Johnstone; died 2018). He was brought up as a Roman Catholic. His parents separated when he was seven and divorced when he was eleven. McAvoy's mother suffered from poor health and subsequently sent him to live with his maternal grandparents, Mary and James Johnstone, in the nearby Drumchapel area of Glasgow. His mother lived with them intermittently. McAvoy has a younger sister named Joy and a younger half-brother named Donald. He has not been in contact with his father since childhood. He attended the Catholic St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in the Jordanhill area of Glasgow and briefly considered joining the priesthood. In a 2006 interview, McAvoy said he considered becoming a priest as a child because it seemed to be a way to explore the world via missionary work. During his education, he worked at a local bakery.

McAvoy applied to join the Royal Navy and had already been accepted when he was also offered a place to study acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD, now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). After graduating in 2000, he moved to London.

Personal life

While working on Shameless, McAvoy started a relationship with Anne-Marie Duff, who played his character's love interest; they married on 11 November 2006. They have a son together, born in 2010. On 13 May 2016, the couple jointly announced their decision to divorce. To minimise disruption to their son's life, they initially shared a home in North London when not working elsewhere. McAvoy confirmed in an interview to The Guardian in February 2022 that he had secretly married his partner Lisa Liberati after years of speculation. The couple met on the set of 2016 horror thriller Split. Liberati was working as a personal assistant to Split director M. Night Shyamalan at the time.

After McAvoy won the "Rising Star" award from the BAFTAs, his estranged father spoke to the Sunday Mirror, stating that he would love to get in touch with his son but did not know how to contact him. Although he did not read the piece, McAvoy heard about it and was unmoved.

McAvoy considers himself a spiritual person who no longer practises Catholicism. He enjoys fantasy themes, which he said started from age 11 with reading The Lord of the Rings.

McAvoy is a fan of Celtic FC, stating that his dream acting role would be Celtic player Jimmy Johnstone. He had once been a video game addict, playing role-playing games such as The Legend of Zelda, Secret of Mana, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which he quit after it began affecting his life. McAvoy recalled burning his disc of Oblivion with a kitchen stove to get rid of his addiction to the game.

Speaking to Sky News in 2011, McAvoy said he believed that British filmmakers belittle and dumb down their productions to please American audiences. He had previously called 3D films a "waste of money", accusing film studios of using the effect to get more money out of cinema audiences.

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Career

In The Near Room (1995), McAvoy's debut was at the age of 15 years (1995). He later confessed that he wasn't really interested in acting when he first appeared on the film, but that after having a deep concern for his co-star Alana Brady, he was inspired to study acting. Even as a member of PACE Youth Theatre, he continued to perform. In 2000, McAvoy graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He made guest appearances on television shows and started working in film in the early 2000s. McAvoy's performance as a gay hustler in the play Out in the Open in 2001 inspired producer Joe Wright so much that he began to film McAvoy's. McAvoy's decline continued, but it wasn't until six years ago that they met together.

Sam Mendes was captivated by his appearance in Privates on Parade in the Donmar Warehouse this time. Private James W. Miller appeared in Band of Brothers, an eleven-hour World War II miniseries starring executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. In 2002's White Teeth, a four-part television drama miniseries adaption based on Zadie Smith's book of the same name, he attracted critics.

McAvoy appeared in Frank Herbert's Children of Dune, a Sci Fi Channel miniseries that was based on Frank Herbert's books, in 2003. It is one of the channel's most coveted programs. Since he accepted the position of an unprincipled reporter in 2003's State of Play, he gained more work. The well-received six-part drama serial tells the tale of a newspaper's probe into the death of a young woman and was shown on BBC One. The Chicago Tribune called the program a "must-see" because of its cast's results. McAvoy shot scenes for Bollywood Queen in 2002, describing it as West Side Story meets Romeo and Juliet with bindis; the film was released as a special exhibition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and opened in UK cinemas on October 17th.

In 2004, he appeared in Wimbledon, as both Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany, as leads. In the 2004 English version of Strings, a mystical fantasy film, he would voice Hal. Inside I'm Dancing, Damien O'Donnell's Irish film starring fellow Scot Steven Robertson, was another 2004 release for him. He was cast as one of the two main characters in it: a maverick with duchenne muscular dystrophy. McAvoy died in 2004 after appearing in the first two episodes of Shameless as Steve McBride, the BAFTA's highest moral hero of the Channel 4 series.

In 2005, Walt Disney Pictures' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, his public profile was raised. McAvoy appeared in Andrew Adamson's fantasy adventure film based on C. S. Lewis' book as Tumnus, a faun who befriends Lucy Pevensie (played by Georgie Henley) and joins Aslan (Liam Neeson)'s forces. On December 9, it was announced that the United Kingdom would be released. The film debuted at number one at the British box office, grossing around £8.7 million at 498 theaters over the weekend. Narnia's earnings in 2015 total reached £463. In 2006, he accepted the principal role of Brian Jackson, a nerdy university student who has won a spot on a University Challenge quiz team in the mid-1980s, in Starter for 10. David Nicholls, who adapted the film's screenplay from his own book, directed him. On November tennant, the British-American production was released in the United Kingdom. Despite the good buzz, the film flopped at the box office, with no way to recover its production costs of £5.7 million.

Forest Whitaker had suggested McAvoy to director Kevin Macdonald for the role of Nicholas Garrigan in 2006's Academy Award-winning low-budgeted The Last King of Scotland. When in Uganda, McAvoy depicted a Scottish doctor who becomes the personal physician to dictator Idi Amin (played by Whitaker). Although the film is based on true events of Amin's reign, the plot and the woman McAvoy portrayal are fictional and based on Giles Foden's 1998 novel. McAvoy described his character as a "completely selfish prick." During his first attempt to shoot Nicholas' torture, an eerily quiet McAvoy collapsed. McAvoy was named Best Actor of the Year by Scotland's own BAFTA Awards, where the film swept the major categories and received a nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Three accolades were given to the film, including the Outstanding British Film of the Year. McAvoy's success was accompanied by praise.

In Becoming Jane, a 2007 historical film based on the author's childhood, he played Irish attorney Tom Lefroy and love-interest to Jane Austen. Penelope was the next in line, which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. It also stars Christina Ricci, triggering polarized reactions. In Atonement, Joe Wright's 2007 adaptation of Ian McEwan's book of the same name, McAvoy's career was the breakthrough in McAvoy's career. It's a romantic war film about lovers Cecilia and Robbie's (Keira Knightley and McAvoy) being broken apart after her older sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) falsely accuses him of rape. McAvoy said after reading the script, "If I don't get the part I'm not reading the book because it will be sad." It's an amazing job, and I'm really excited about it." McAvoy has described the film as "very sad," but it is still a uplifting experience. He also expressed his displeasure with the news that viewers would be left "fully distraught and harrowed." Atonement screenings were held at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was one of the most popular films on view, as well as the Venice Film Festival. Atonement was a major awards contender; it had been nominated for fourteen BAFTAs and seven Academy Awards. Both McAvoy and Knightley were nominated for their appearances at the 65th Golden Globe Awards, respectively. In addition,, critics lauded the film, with Metacritic noting it to have an approval rating of 85. According to Hollywood Reporter writer Ray Bennett, the pair delivered "compelling and charismatic performances."

McAvoy appeared in Wanted (2008), an action film in which he portrayed Wesley Gibson, a young American slacker who finds he is heir to a line of assassins, in his next role. When McAvoy first auditioned for the role, he was initially turned down because the studio was looking for an actor with classic Hollywood leading-man appearances and physique. He later recalled being named the "runt of the litter" of those who took part in the study, but he eventually took the job in late 2006 after the studio "wanted someone geeky." He sustained multiple injuries during Wanted's shooting, including a twisted ankle and an injured knee. Nonetheless, the actor said he had a "good time" while making the film. McAvoy had never tried this sort of thing before, and he liked Wanted as a way to be more versatile.

It was released globally in June 2008. It was based on Mark Millar's comic book miniseries of the same name. The press gave it positive feedback, although the public preferred that it was fast-paced. Wanted was a hit at the box office, grossing $341 million against a $75 million production budget. The Last Station (2009), a biopic that chronicles Leo Tolstoy's last months as well as actress Anne-Marie Duff, McAvoy's wife at the time. It was shown on a small number of television screens in the United States. Although most critics' prizes paid attention to co-stars Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, the Satellite Awards nominated McAvoy for Best Supporting Actor. In the television series Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps, McAvoy voiced Angelina Mouseling. In 2009, he appeared onstage at Apollo Theatre's Three Days of Rain.

In the film Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), an animated film based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, he played the male titular character. McAvoy portrayed an idealistic war hero who reluctantly supports co-conspirator Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination in Robert Redford's historical American drama The Conspirator. It premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Although the film received mixed reception, critics lauded the actor for his contributions. Owen Gleiberman's review of The Conspirator found it "stiff-jointed" and tedious, but McAvoy was described as "an avid presence" on the occasion.

In X-Men: First Class, McAvoy was cast as telepathic superhero Professor X, the X-Men's founder and creator. Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult were among his company's members. It is based on the Marvel Comics and a prequel to the film series, focusing on Professor X and Magneto's relationship and their organizations' origins. McAvoy did not read comics as a child, but he was a huge fan of the X-Men animated cartoon series. First Class was the highest-selling class in the United Kingdom on June 1st, with ticket sales of around £5 million in its first weekend. McAvoy's results were lauded by the First Class, and his success was widely lauded. He began filming Max Lewinsky's role in the British thriller Welcome to the Punch in 2011. McAvoy narrated the title character in Arthur Christmas' animated holiday film that was released that year. In addition, he appeared in the Danny Boyle film Trance.

In 2012, McAvoy was cast as Bruce Robertson in Filth, an adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel of the same name. The film's ensemble cast includes McAvoy's former classmate Shauna Macdonald as his wife, as well as Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsan, and Imogen Poots. McAvoy received the Best Actor award at the British Independent Film Awards in December 2013. In addition, it was revealed that he would co-star with Jessica Chastain in a double-feature film project entitled The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. In Neil Gaiman's radio play adaptation of Neverwhere, he played the male lead. In October 2016, McAvoy played Richard in Neil Gaiman's 'How The Marquis Got His Coat Back', a comedy. The Boatman was played by Gaiman.

In early 2013, McAvoy appeared in Shakespeare's Macbeth on London's West End. Macbeth was the first performance at the Trafalgar Transformed Festival, running from 9 February to April 27. Jamie Lloyd, who also directed McAvoy in 2009's Three Days of Rain, was involved in the production. In 2015, McAvoy received the Best Actor award at London's Evening Standard Theater Awards for his portrayal of Jack Gurney in The Ruling Class, a revival of Peter Barnes' Peter Barnes' drama directed by Jamie Lloyd. From 16 January to 11 April 2015, Trafalgar Studios ran it.

McAvoy reprised his role as Professor X in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), the country's sixth highest-grossing film and the second highest-grossing film in the X-Men franchise, as well as in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse. Kevin Wendell Crumb, a dissociative identity disorder sufferer with dangerous abilities, appeared in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller Split in 2016. Critics lauded his work, with some describing it as the best of his career. In the BBC miniseries Watership Down, McAvoy portrayed Hazel in 2018. In the film Dark Phoenix, he reprised his role as Crumb in Glass and then returned as Professor X.

In the horror film It Chapter Two, the sequel to It (2017), McAvoy played adult Bill Denbrough, which premiered on September 6, 2019 and grossed $473 million at the box office. Lord Asriel appeared in His Dark Materials' television adaptation in 2019, as well as in 2019.

On March 4, 2020, it was announced that Audible would be adapting Neil Gaiman's acclaimed comic book series The Sandman into a multi-part audio drama, with McAvoy voicing Dream. McAvoy appeared in the Jaime Lloyd Company's Cyrano de Bergerac production, which opened in the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre on February 3, 2022, for which he received the Best Performer in a Male-Identifying Role award. He continued his performance at the Harvey Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), opening the show stateside on April 5, 2022, and running until May 22, 2022.

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