James McAvoy, Wanted, Saturday, Channel 4, 10.35pm

STAR PROFILE:

Best knownwn for: Shameless, less, X-Men:First t Class and Wanted. Early life: Born in Port Glasgow on April 21, 1979, he is the son of a psychiatric nurse and a builder. r. His parents d divorced d whenh heh was seven and he was brought up by his maternal grandparents in the Drumchapel area of Glasgow due to his mother’s ill health. He has a sister and a younger halfbrother. A visit to his school by actor David Hayman sparked an interest in acting, and Hayman offered him a part in his film TheNear Room. He selected the acting route and moved to London after graduating in 2000. Career: McAvoy made guest appearances in a steady stream of TV shows (including The Bill, Bandof Brothers, Foyle’sWar, StateofPlay and EarlyDoors) and movies until he caught the British public’s imagination in 2004 playing Steve McBride in Shameless. A year later he became known to worldwide audiences for his role in The ChroniclesofNarnia:TheLion,the WitchandtheWardrobe. Since then he has been much in demand and starred in The LastKingofScotland, Penelope, BecomingJane, Atonement, Wanted, the X-Men franchise, Filth, Muppets MostWanted and Trance. He has also voiced characters in Gnomeo& Juliet and Arthur Christmas. Trivia: Wed Shameless co-star AnneMarie Duff in 2006. They have a son, Brendan. McAvoy describes their quiet way of life as: “mundane, and I love it that way”. Quote: “I always believed that I never wanted to be an actor. I only did it because I was allowed to do it and I had to do something.”