McAvoy: Film stars are told to lie to win awards
ACTOR James McAvoy has revealed he has been told to lie about how gruelling film roles have been to boost his chances of winning an Oscar.
The X-Men star said: ‘I’ve been told so many times that if you want to win awards, you need to start making it sound like you’re f***ing sweating blood every time you step on set.
‘People want me to say things like, “That was the hardest thing I’ve done! It consumed me completely!” It’s just my job and it didn’t leave me shattered but I feel that people are disappointed when I say that.’
The 38-year-old Scot has been tipped for an Oscar for his role as a maniac with 24 personalities in the thriller Split.
McAvoy, who split from his actress wife Anne-Marie Duff last year, added that caring for their son Brendan, six, helps him cope with his roles.
He told US website TheTalks. com: ‘I really, really love it [act- ing]. When I’m doing it, there’s nothing else. But the other half is being a stay-at-home dad.
‘That makes it easy to separate myself from roles.’ Last year Leonardo DiCaprio won as Oscar after eating raw bison and enduring the frozen wilderness just as his character did in The Revenant.