James McAvoy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James McAvoy
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McAvoy at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
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| Born | 21 April 1979 Glasgow, Scotland
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| Education | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (BA) |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Joy McAvoy (sister) |
James McAvoy (born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor and director. He started acting as a teenager in the film The Near Room (1995). For many years, he mostly worked in television. His TV roles included the thriller State of Play (2003) and the drama series Shameless (2004–2005).
James McAvoy became well-known for playing Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). He also starred as an assassin in the action film Wanted (2008). In 2006, he won the first BAFTA Rising Star Award. His roles in The Last King of Scotland (2006) and Atonement (2007) earned him BAFTA Award nominations.
In 2011, he voiced characters in animated movies like Arthur Christmas and Gnomeo & Juliet. He also played Professor X in the superhero film X-Men: First Class. He continued this role in other X-Men movies. McAvoy received praise for his roles in the crime film Filth (2013) and as a man with many different personalities in Split (2016) and Glass (2019). From 2019 to 2022, he played Lord Asriel in the fantasy series His Dark Materials. He also starred as Bill Denbrough in the horror film It Chapter Two (2019).
On stage, McAvoy has performed in several West End plays. These include Three Days of Rain (2010), Macbeth (2013), The Ruling Class (2015), and Cyrano de Bergerac (2020). For his stage work, he has received four nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.
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Early Life and Education
James McAvoy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on April 21, 1979. His father was James McAvoy Sr., and his mother was Elizabeth Johnstone. His parents separated when he was seven and divorced when he was eleven. Due to his mother's health, James went to live with his grandparents, Mary and James Johnstone, in Glasgow. He has a younger sister, Joy McAvoy, who is also an actress.
He went to St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. For a short time, he thought about becoming a priest. He also worked at a local bakery during his school years. McAvoy was accepted into the Royal Navy, but he also got a place to study acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). He chose acting and graduated in 2000, then moved to London.
Acting Career
Early Roles
James McAvoy's first acting job was at age 15 in The Near Room (1995). He later said that this experience made him want to study acting. After graduating from drama school in 2000, he started appearing in TV shows and films. In 2001, his performance in the play Out in the Open impressed director Joe Wright.
In 2001, McAvoy played Private James W. Miller in Band of Brothers. This was a long TV series about World War II, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. He also gained attention in 2002 for White Teeth, a TV drama based on a popular novel.
In 2003, McAvoy appeared in the science fiction series Frank Herbert's Children of Dune. He then played a reporter in State of Play, a six-part drama on BBC One. Critics praised the show and its actors. In 2004, he was in the romantic comedy Wimbledon. He also voiced a character in the animated film Strings. Another film from 2004 was Inside I'm Dancing, where he played a main character with a muscle condition. He finished 2004 by appearing in the first two seasons of the TV show Shameless.
Becoming a Star (2005-2009)
In 2005, McAvoy starred in Walt Disney Pictures' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This movie was based on C. S. Lewis's children's book. He played Tumnus, a faun who becomes friends with Lucy Pevensie. The film was very successful, earning over £463 million worldwide.
In 2006, he played Brian Jackson, a university student, in Starter for 10. Later that year, he took on the role of Nicholas Garrigan in The Last King of Scotland. He played a Scottish doctor who becomes the personal physician to a dictator in Uganda. For this role, McAvoy won Best Actor at BAFTA Scotland and was nominated for a BAFTA Award.
Next, he played Tom Lefroy in Becoming Jane (2007), a film about the early life of writer Jane Austen. His big breakthrough came in Atonement (2007), directed by Joe Wright. In this romantic war film, he played Robbie, whose life is ruined by a false accusation. The film was highly praised and nominated for many awards.
In 2008, McAvoy starred with Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman in the action film Wanted. He played Wesley Gibson, a young man who discovers he comes from a family of assassins. The film was a box office hit, making $341 million worldwide. In 2009, he voiced Maurice Mouseling in the TV series Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps. He also performed on stage in Three Days of Rain.
New Challenges (2010s)
In 2011, he voiced the main character in the animated movie Gnomeo & Juliet. He also played an idealistic war hero in The Conspirator, which premiered in 2010. Critics praised his performance in this film.
In 2010, McAvoy was chosen to play Professor X, a powerful telepath and leader of the X-Men, in X-Men: First Class. He joined a cast that included Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence. The movie was a prequel to the X-Men film series and focused on the early relationship between Professor X and Magneto. The film was well-received, and McAvoy's acting was highly praised.
In 2011, he voiced the main character in the animated holiday film Arthur Christmas. He also played the lead role in the film Trance. In 2012, McAvoy was cast as Bruce Robertson in Filth, a movie based on a novel. He won Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards for this role in 2013.
McAvoy starred in Shakespeare's Macbeth on London's West End in 2013. In 2015, he won the Best Actor award at the Evening Standard Theater Awards for his role in The Ruling Class.
He returned as Professor X in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016). In 2016, he starred in the thriller Split as Kevin Wendell Crumb, a character with many different personalities. In 2018, McAvoy voiced Hazel in the BBC series Watership Down. In 2019, he played Crumb again in Glass and Professor X in Dark Phoenix.
McAvoy played the adult Bill Denbrough in the horror film It Chapter Two (2019). Also in 2019, he starred as Lord Asriel in the TV show His Dark Materials.
Recent Work (2020s)
In 2020, Audible released an audio drama of the comic book series The Sandman, with McAvoy voicing the main character, Dream.
McAvoy continued his stage work in Cyrano de Bergerac, which opened in London in 2022. He won a What's On Stage award for his performance. He also performed the show in New York City.
In November 2024, he began directing his first film, California Schemin', in Scotland.
Personal Life
While working on the TV show Shameless, James McAvoy started dating his co-star Anne-Marie Duff. They married in 2006 and had a son in 2010. They announced their divorce in 2016. McAvoy later began a relationship with Lisa Liberati, whom he met while filming Split. They married privately, and their son was born in 2022.
McAvoy considers himself a spiritual person. He enjoys fantasy stories, which he started reading at age 11 with The Lord of the Rings. He is a fan of the Scottish football team Celtic FC. He once had a video game addiction and stopped playing by destroying his game disc.
Helping Others
In 2011, James McAvoy did a BASE jump from a tall hospital building to help raise money for Retrak, a charity that helps children on the streets in Uganda. He continues to support this charity. He also supports the British Red Cross and visited Uganda with them to learn about their projects.
In 2015, McAvoy promised £125,000 to a scholarship program at his old drama school, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2020, he donated £275,000 to a campaign to help the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
Acting Credits
Awards and Recognition
James McAvoy has received many awards and nominations throughout his career. Some of his notable wins include:
- BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2006.
- Best Actor in Film at the British Academy Scotland Awards for The Last King of Scotland (2007) and Filth (2014).
- Empire Award for Best Actor for Atonement (2008) and Filth (2013).
- Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for The Ruling Class (2015) and Cyrano de Bergerac (2022).
- London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actor of the Year for Atonement (2008) and for Filth, Trance, and Welcome to the Punch (2014).
- San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor for Split (2017).
See also
In Spanish: James McAvoy para niños
