Now you see him ...
Marianne Gray meets Scottish actor James Mcavoy, the superstar no one recognises
JAMES McAvoy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a builder father (from whom he is estranged and won’t discuss) and a nurse mother. He was brought up mostly by his grandparents. After school, he trained as a baker before going to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Now 34, he is one of Britain’s busiest actors, with frequent Hollywood forays. His talent for playing flawed yet sympathetic characters has won him awards for films such as The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, Wanted and Trance , and on stage, most recently as Macbeth.
He lives in London with his actress wife, Anne-Marie Duff. They have one son.
McAvoy is involved with the British Red Cross. He did a “terrifying” base jump from the world’s tallest hospital building to help raise money for Ugandan children.
His new film is the slick urban thriller Welcome To The Punch, in which he plays a hot-headed cop. Getting to play somebody who was slightly less likeable and grittier was fun. He means well but he’s a bit of a git. He’s a scruffy-looking London detective who gets shot in the knee in the first chase. Cut to three years later, when he is still physically and emotionally damaged and he gets a second chance at his old nemesis. You never know what reaction your actions
might bring. In one play I killed a child, murdered my character’s best friend, vomited my way around the stage and finally stood panting in front of the audience up to my elbows in gore and somebody chucked a little teddy bear to me on stage. In this job it’s not a question of what you want to do. It’s about the work that people think you are right for now. Although Tom Cruise could probably play Mother Teresa if he wanted. I’ve recently realised that I’m 34 years old so I can’t play a “boy” role any more. It’s important not to repeat oneself. I feel there is a duty not to turn out the same old sh*t. Many British films are dumbed down because we want the Americans to understand them. And the Americans watch it and go: “This is a really unsophisticated, dumbed-down movie.” It’s like we’re patronising them and shortchanging ourselves. I find screen sex scenes sweaty, daunting and uncomfortable. It’s not great having crew and cameras around when you’re trying to kiss and be sexy with someone on screen. Working on stage is massively different
from making a film. I often feel like I am falling to bits, although I am probably
Since I got ‘put on the map’ I’ve been recognised in the street about a dozen times
stronger than I’ve ever been when on stage, doing a two-and-a-half-hour workout eight times a week. Every night I’m like: “How am I going to f***ing do this?”
Fame has never really worried me. Since I got “put on the map” I’ve been recognised in the street about a dozen times. I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where people run across freeways to take a picture of me, as they have done for some of my female co-stars like Angelina (Jolie) and Keira (Knightley). Anyway, I ride a motorbike and nobody recognises me in that helmet. My career has mostly been steady, steady, steady. I haven’t had to compromise — except to sort out my teeth. In this business, your teeth have to be good. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a guy who’s been living on a desert island eating coconuts for 20 years, your teeth need to be perfect.
My ambition is to be happy. I do want to secure my place in the industry and be making films in 20 years time. But I also want to be happy. • Welcome To The Punch is on circuit.