I think Anne-Marie's always done that, and she manages to do it without taking up too much emotional space. I don't know how she does it. The hours you work are incredible. But beyond that as well, Anne-Marie [wife Anne-Marie Duff ] and I both seem to get the kind of jobs where you put yourself through the wringer.
I just got to float about saying lines that Professor X thought were slightly humorous. But generally the work we get is quite emotionally demanding. I think I'd love Harry. He's a proper, man. He's like, "I'm never gonna be the king, it's cool. Can't I just act it, darling? I'm probably more dangerous in a car than I am on a motorbike; on a bike I'm very mindful of the fact that if you make a mistake you're dead. If you can't empathise and imagine what it is like to be somebody from somewhere else your world becomes very small and you can only do one thing.
I came out being able to do a lot of the stuff that I've done. It is one of those parts, those plays, where the audience is willing you to dash yourself on the rocks, both artistically and actually a little bit.
It's all very controlled and we're trying to make sure nothing like that would ever happen of course, but we have to go so far to make people feel like anything could happen, make it seem like we are on the verge of losing control.
That's not only a hard line to ride, it's also an exhausting one. But I'm loving it, absolutely loving it. It is not what you usually expect from me.
It is not Trainspotting It is very Irvine Welsh but it has got its own voice. At the beginning of my career I just set out to hopefully dupe people into giving me any kind of work, and that was a lot of character work. I was just happy to get anything and I'm lucky that I've not been pigeon-holed too much. I've started to plan things a bit more now, but until the last three or four years I never really planned anything.
What I do as an actor. I don't go, 'What's the truth of this scene, what should I be playing for the truth of this moment? I look at what I want the audience to feel, and I work back from that.
I probably have the audience at the forefront of my mind for most movies, but particularly for Filth , because half the fun of this film is in pulling the audience from pillar to post in terms of how much they can take. You never quite know where the line is in terms of humour, in terms of your emotional connection to the character, in terms of right or wrong, in terms of your allegiance to him, in terms of your empathy and sympathy, in terms of your repulsion to him.
And just as he's becoming vulnerable and drawing you in, he forces a fifteen year-old girl to give him a blowjob. So he's constantly moving the line in the sand. And you're constantly asking the audience to cross that line. I don't have a middle name. When actors are lucky enough to get work their worry starts to become: 'will I get anything as good as that again? Maybe I need to deal with the fact that I will never get anything as interesting as that again. I don't even mean for the audience, I mean just for myself.
Bruce came easier than any other part I've played, which is terrifying, because he is a demon, he is a proper son of Satan, although the truth he is just like any one of us who has gone horrendously bad. I actually loved him.
I would love to do a skydive, because I like anything to do with heights. But that will have to wait for now. But I do still use my motorbike. After the birth of [his son] Brendan I was all set to sell it, but my wife insisted it was a part of my personality. However, I do drive on secure tracks - it's much safer than in normal traffic. You're partly leading the company, helping to set the tone and the example of the work ethic.
You are colouring the production with every choice you make, and you've got to do that on purpose, and not be so precious and gentle with it. Suddenly, I was around people who weren't afraid of being slightly different or called names, or singing a song, or playing in a band. I could suddenly stop being afraid to be different, or to aim for something, or to ask for something, or of being bullied.
I wouldn't have believed you. I didn't even think about acting until I was acting. My grandparents were always very strict with me, my mother, too. I know it may sound as if things were quite difficult, unstable or whatever, but in fact they weren't at all. I was very happy as a child, even though I was never let out of the door on my own until I was In a way I think that stopped me from getting into mischief, but I don't think I was ever that mischievous anyway.
I take my job very seriously and if I start acting like an idiot off screen, I lose that respect. It was a brave move in my neighbourhood. I've only done it once on the red carpet. Never again. I'm always on the hunt for something new, a character I have never played before. Thanks to X-Men I have a certain amount of financial freedom. When I know I'll be making another blockbuster in a couple of years' time, I can afford to say yes to smaller projects with smaller budgets.
I don't trust politicians at the moment. Why suddenly believe them now? Whether it turns out bad or good, you can make the best of independence. We could be [rich] for four years, but then we might not be. That's what happens. Ask any Scotsman who wants independence whether they want to shed blood for it. I don't think they'd say yes. You can't control your career as an actor.
If you could strategise your way to the top, then everybody would be successful and playing the leads in movies where they're commanding millions of dollars. And they're not.
You can't. There are better actors than me who are struggling, and there are worse actors than me who are coining it in. Luckily for me, the work has just kept coming. That made the make-up artists' jobs very nice and easy the next day. I really am thrifty. When it comes to the people I love, I'm generous, but I don't need much. I spend money on groceries and pay my bills. Every now and again I'll allow myself a chocolate bar. I'm joking but seriously, I'm careful with my money. I learnt that from my grandparents.
That was always very important to me, not to be in debt to anyone, money-wise. I was determined not to take any money off my mother or my grandparents after I was I didn't want to be in a film that featured a couple dealing with the death of their child.
It took two years after the birth of Brendan for me to be at enough of a distance to take on the story. For me, it's about a guy with huge trauma: firstly post-traumatic stress disorder, but also the trauma of not being able to have a child. I've been doing a lot of that sort of stuff lately. Because when they asked me to do it, they needed a quick answer because they were going to lose financing. The Conspirator. Bollywood Queen. Becoming Jane. Starter for The Last King of Scotland.
Fever Pitch. Rory O'Shea Was Here. Bright Young Things. The Pool. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. Guest 21 Credits.
The Graham Norton Show. Jimmy Kimmel Live! Late Night With Seth Meyers. Regis and Kelly. Top Gear. Watch What Happens: Live. Show all 20 episodes. Self - Actor. Show all 9 episodes. Show all 7 episodes. Show all 10 episodes. Self - The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. Show all 8 episodes. Night Shyamalan Video documentary short Self. Self - Special Guest. Self - Interviewee. Self - Storyteller. Tumnus uncredited. Hide Show Archive footage 14 credits. Valentin uncredited.
Wesley Gibson. Tumnus, the Faun. Related Videos. See more ». Height: 5' 7" 1. Spouse: Anne-Marie Duff divorced 1 child. Children: McAvoy, Brendan. Relatives: Joy McAvoy sibling. Edit Did You Know? Personal Quote: [on his play "The Ruling Class"] No matter how light it is, it's anger running through it.
In his teens, McAvoy flirted with the idea of becoming a priest or joining the Navy. Things took an unexpected turn when he was cast in the movie "The Near Room" at the age of But even then, McAvoy did not take acting very seriously, until he developed feelings for one of his co-stars.
The crush on Brady did not ultimately lead anywhere, but in its place McAvoy discovered a calling that has since made him one of the most in-demand actors in the world. As for Brady, who now works for the National Theatre of Scotland, she said that it was nice to be remembered, adding "We did both like each other but we were just teenagers.
It was a long time ago. What makes James McAvoy stand out in films is his affable, everyman persona. Turns out this air of being grounded in the real world is no accident. But this did not mean he was living in the lap of luxury from then on. When McAvoy recently emerged as the unexpected winner of an episode of "The Great Celebrity Bake Off," he revealed that he had a distinct advantage over the other competitors from years ago.
In the past, McAvoy had explained that he used his apprenticeship to pay for his stint at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. But he is by no means an expert at baking. Apart from acting, James McAvoy is an avid hiker and a lover of heights. While filming scenes for "The Last King of Scotland," McAvoy was able to put his interests to good use when he came into contact with Retrak, an organization which assists children on the streets with contacting their families.
Retrak asked McAvoy to kick things up a notch publicity-wise by performing a BASE jump from the roof of Guy's Hospital in London, which holds the distinction of being the tallest hospital building in the world. It was a good way to try and raise money for charity. Torture scenes can be tricky to shoot, where the balance between realism and the safety of the actors must always be kept in mind.
While filming "The Last King of Scotland," James McAvoy passed out during a torture scene in which his character, Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan, has his chest pierced with meat hooks and is hung by his skin on the orders of the dictatorial Ugandan President Idi Amin Forest Whitaker. So I thought how could I not scream? If I don't breathe because I'm in so much pain then I won't be able to actually scream because there's no breath to vocalize.
The actor's solution was to hold his breath for the scene. Unfortunately, the shoot took longer than expected. Soon, McAvoy found himself running out of breath. Refusing to break character, he soon passed out from the lack of oxygen and had to be urgently revived by the film's crew. Understandably, McAvoy has declared the torture scene one of the hardest to shoot in his entire career.
Despite starting out as a dramatic actor, James McAvoy became a bona fide star thanks to his action roles. So it's all the more strange to discover that producers initially thought the actor was not convincing enough in an action role to be cast as the lead.
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