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| James McAvoy |
Early life and family
James McAvoy was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Elizabeth (née Johnstone), a psychiatric nurse, and James McAvoy Senior, a builder. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic. His parents divorced when he was seven, which McAvoy took hard. McAvoy's mother suffered from poor health and subsequently decided it was best that he live with his maternal grandparents, Mary and butcher James Johnstone, in the nearby Drumchapel area of Glasgow in a terrace council house. His mother lived with them intermittently. The actor has regularly visited his grandparents. He has a sister, Joy, and a younger half-brother, Donald. McAvoy has not been in contact with his father since childhood. According to his father, James McAvoy avoided any contact with him after he moved in with his new lover. Nonetheless, the actor had a good upbringing. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Jordanhill, Glasgow, a Catholic school, and briefly considered joining the Catholic priesthood. In a 2006 interview, James McAvoy admitted that part of the reason why he considered becoming a priest was that he wanted to use it as an excuse to travel. During his education, he worked at a local bakery.
Career
Early career
McAvoy's acting debut came at the age of 15 in The Near Room (1995). McAvoy later admitted that he was not very interested in acting when joining the movie, but was inspired to study the craft after developing feelings for his co-star, Alana Brady. He continued to act while still a member of PACE Youth Theatre. James McAvoy eventually graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2000. Throughout the early 2000s, James McAvoy made guest appearances in television shows and began working on movies. In 2001, the actor appeared in a play entitled Out in the Open. His performance in the play as a gay hustler impressed filmmaker Joe Wright so much that he stayed on his radar and offered James McAvoy parts in his movies, but to no avail, as the actor turned them down for years.
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| James McAvoy |
During 2003 James McAvoy appeared in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune, adapted from Frank Herbert's novels. It is one of the highest-rated programs ever to be aired on the channel. More cable work came for him when he accepted the role of an unprincipled reporter in 2003's State of Play. The well-received six-part British drama serial tells the story of a newspaper's investigation into the death of a young woman and was broadcast on BBC One. Calling the program a "must-see", the Chicago Tribune recommended State of Play for its cast's performance. During 2002, James McAvoy shot scenes for Bollywood Queen. Called West Side Story meets Romeo and Juliet with bindis, the movie deals with star-crossed lovers caught in the middle of clashing cultures. It was shown as a special presentation at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and opened in UK theatres on 17 October. In 2004, he acted in a supporting role in the romantic comedy Wimbledon, also featuring Kirsten Dunst as a co-lead. His next project was voicing a character named Hal in the 2004 English version of Strings, a mythic fantasy film. Another 2004 release for him was Inside I'm Dancing, an Irish production helmed by Damien O'Donnell. In it, the actor was cast as the principal character: a maverick with duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Critical success
James McAvoy rounded out 2004 by appearing in the first two seasons of Shameless as Steve McBride, the moral hero of the BAFTA-winning Channel 4 program, giving the actor a big break in his career. His public profile was raised in 2005 with the release of Walt Disney Pictures's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. James McAvoy starred in the fantasy adventure film made by Andrew Adamson and based on C. S. Lewis's'children's novel as Mr. Tumnus, a faun who befriends Lucy Pevensie (played by Georgie Henley) and joins Aslan's (Liam Neeson) forces. It was given a UK release of December 9. At the UK box office, this movie opened at number one, earning around £8.7 million at 498 cinemas over the weekend. Worldwide, Narnia grossed £463 million, making it the 41st highest-grossing film of all-time worldwide. That succeeding year he also accepted the principal role of Brian Jackson, a nerdy university student who wins a place on a University Challenge quiz team in the mid-1980s, in Starter for 10. He was directed by David Nicholls, who adapted the film's screenplay from his own book. The British/American production was given distribution in the UK on November 10. 10 scored a rating of 89% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on a sample of 75 reviews. In spite of the positive buzz, the movie flopped at the box office, unable to recover its production costs of £5.7 million.
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| James McAvoy |
Following that, James McAvoy played Irish attorney Tom Lefroy and love-interest to Jane Austen in Becoming Jane, a 2007 historical movie inspired by the author's early life. Next up was Penelope, which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. Also starring co-producer Reese Witherspoon, it generated polarised reviews. The breakthrough role in McAvoy's career came in Atonement, Joe Wright's 2007 adaption of Ian McEwan's novel of the same title. A romantic war film, it focuses on lovers Cecilia and Robbie's (Keira Knightley and James McAvoy) lives being torn apart after her jealous younger sister (Saoirse Ronan) falsely accuses him of a crime. Upon reading the script, James McAvoy thought to himself, "if I don't get the part I'm not reading the book because it'll be devastating. It's an amazing role and I really wanted it." McAvoy has called the movie "incredibly sad" but considers it an uplifting experience. He also shared that he hoped viewers will be left "absolutely devastated and harrowed." Screenings of Atonement were held at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was one of most acclaimed films present, and Venice Film Festival. Atonement was a big awards contender; it was nominated for fourteen BAFTAs and seven Academy Awards. Both James McAvoy and Knightley were nominated for their performances at the 65th Golden Globe Awards, respectively. Additionally, the film was lauded by critics, with Metacritic reporting it to have an approval rating of 85. The Hollywood Reporter writer Ray Bennett said the duo gave "compelling and charismatic performances".
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| James McAvoy |
One of the biggest highlights of James McAvoy's career was starring opposite Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman in Wanted, an action movie where he personified Wesley Gibson, a young American slacker who learns he is heir to a legacy of assassins. When James McAvoy screen-tested for the role, he was initially rejected because the studio was seeking an actor with conventional Hollywood leading-man looks and physique. He later recalled being considered the "runt of the litter" of those who tested, but ultimately got the part in late 2006 since the studio "wanted someone geeky." While shooting action scenes for Wanted, he suffered several injuries, including a twisted ankle and an injured knee. Nonetheless the actor said he had a "good time" doing the movie. James McAvoy had never done this type of genre before and thought of Wanted as a chance to be more versatile. Loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name by Mark Millar, it saw a June 2008 release worldwide. It received favourable reviews from the press, who generally liked that it was fast-paced. At the box office, Wanted was a success, grossing £207 million against a £45 million production budget. Next was The Last Station (2009), a biopic that details the final months of celebrated writer Leo Tolstoy and also stars McAvoy's wife. It was shown at a limited amount of screens in the US. Although most critics' awards paid attention to co-stars Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer, the Satellite Awards nominated McAvoy for Best Supporting Actor.
James McAvoy also appeared onstage in 2009 at Apollo Theater's Three Days of Rain. He accepted the job of voicing the male titular character in Gnomeo and Juliet (2011), an animated movie based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. In Robert Redford's historical American drama The Conspirator, James McAvoy played the role of an idealistic war hero who reluctantly defends a co-conspirator charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination. It premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. While this movie garnered mixed reception, critics lauded the actor for his work. In Owen Gleiberman's assessment of The Conspirator, he found it "stiff-jointed" and tedious, but regarded James McAvoy as "an avid presence". In mid-2010, McAvoy was cast as telepathic superhero Professor X, leader and founder of the X-Men, in X-Men: First Class. He joined an ensemble that included Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Kevin Bacon. Based on the Marvel Comics and a prequel to the film series, it is set primarily during the Cuban Missile Crisis and focuses on the relationship between Professor X and Magneto and the origin of their groups. James McAvoy admitted that he was not familiar with the comics as a child, but was a fan of the cartoons since the age of 10. Released to the UK on 1 June, First Class topped its box office with ticket sales of around £5 million during its opening weekend. First Class was also reviewed favourably.
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| James McAvoy |
James McAvoy dated Scottish actress Emma Nielsen (stage name Emma King) for six years until 2003. While working on Shameless, McAvoy started a relationship with his character's love interest, Anne-Marie Duff, who is nine years his senior. When they first began dating, James McAvoy and Duff mutually agreed not to speak to the press about their relationship. At the age of 27, he married Duff, then 36, on 18 October 2006 in a quiet ceremony. When asked by Ryan Seacrest, during his radio show, if he wished he had waited longer to get married so he could exploit his fame better, James McAvoy replied that he had married the woman of his dreams. "The world seemed less scary.... And I started to like myself a little bit more," McAvoy added of how he knew they were in love.
They have one child together, a son named Brendan, born in 2010. During interviews, the actor has opted not to discuss his son and have not announced their child's birth date, although he has stated the little man keeps him up at night. He had dropped out of the cancer dramedy 50/50 in early 2010, shortly before filming was to begin, reportedly in fear that he would miss the birth of their child. Despite his wealth, James McAvoy leads what has been called a modest life. Prior to marrying Duff, he purchased a second floor flat in North London during 2006 for about £178,000. Also, he and his wife drive a 1990s Nissan Micra that is worth less than £1,000. The couple enjoy a close relationship and rarely leave their flat, choosing to instead read or do sudoku puzzles together. Of this lifestyle, the actor said it is "mundane, and I love it that way".
After James McAvoy won an 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 reach him. Though the actor did not read the piece, he heard about it and was unmoved. He enjoys fantasy themes which he said started from the age of 11 with The Lord of the Rings. His big interest outside acting and science fiction is football; he is a huge fan of Celtic Football Club, stating that his dream role would be to play Celtic legend Jimmy Johnstone. James McAvoy considers himself a spiritual person who no longer practices Catholicism. Speaking to Sky News, James McAvoy said he believed that British filmmakers belittle and dumb down their productions to please American audiences. "It's like we're patronising them and short changing ourselves," the actor commented. He has also branded 3-D films a "waste of money", accusing movie studios of using the effect to get more money out of their theatre audiences.