James McAvoy

Trained at Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now known as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland).

McAvoy and Jessica Brooks were the first actors to tackle the complex roles Leto II & his twin sister Ghanima Atreides, the strange prescient "Children of Dune" based on Frank Herbert s novel of the same name. Although Leto and Ghanima were only nine years old in the novel, their ages were bumped up about seven years, making them about sixteen for the Sci-Fi Channels miniseries in March 2003.

His younger sister is Joy McAvoy , also an actress who appeared as Estelle alongside McAvoy in Filth (2013/I) .

His parents divorced when he was seven.

As a child, he wanted to become a missionary because he wanted to travel the world.

After his parents divorced, McAvoy and his sister moved in with their maternal grandparents, James and Mary Johnstone.

After growing up in Glasgow, he moved to London at the age of 20.

Before he went into acting, he wanted to join the Navy.

While filming The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , Georgie Henley never saw McAvoy in his Mr. Tumnus costume before filming their scenes together. Henleys scared reaction upon seeing McAvoy is genuine surprise.

Former roommate of Jesse Spencer when they were both living in London.

Fan of Celtic Football Club.

Joe Wright considered him for a role in his Pride & Prejudice . Both director and actor refused to name the part.

Born to James McAvoy, a bus driver-turned-builder, and his then-wife Elizabeth (Johnstone), a psychiatric nurse.

Attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Jordanhill, Glasgow. Also attended by Tom Mannion.

Enjoys science fiction, including "Star Trek" and the new "Battlestar Galactica" .

Was ranked #18 on Entertainment Weeklys 30 Under 30 the actors list. .

While growing up, he wanted to be a priest.

Chosen as one of People Magazines Sexiest Men Alive for 2007.

Worked out to improve his physique for the action scenes in Wanted . However he suffered several injuries during shooting, including a twisted ankle and an injured knee.

Said the script for Atonement was the best he had ever read.

Is good friends with actors Tom Ellis and Benedict Cumberbatch.

His favorite director is Ken Loach.

Was inspired to become an actor after meeting actor/director David Hayman.

Among his favorite movies are The Goonies , Back to the Future , The Great Escape , Brief Encounter , Kes and My Name Is Joe .

Became a father for the first time at the age of 30 when his wife (now his ex-wife) Anne-Marie Duff gave birth to their son Brendan McAvoy in February 2010.

His fans refer to themselves as "McAvoyeurs".

Has a younger half-brother named Donald.

Has said he is "desperately allergic" to horses and suffered terribly while shooting scenes for The Conspirator.

Former member of Pace Youth Theatre. Other members included Barry Arthur McKay , Shauna MacDonald , Paolo Nutini , Martin Quinn and Gordon McCorkell.

Nominated for a Best Actor Olivier Award for his performance in "Macbeth".

McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff were married at a celebrity-free ceremony at the 19th century Drumtochty Castle in Aberdeenshire. McAvoy didnt invite any co-stars because he didnt want the day to be about being famous.

At the London premiere of Danny Boyle s film Trance (2013/I) in March 2013, McAvoy apologised to reporter Sophie van Brugen when he accidentally spat on her during a red carpet interview.

Keeps an apartment in the centre of Glasgow for family visits.

Worked as a trained confectioner for two and a half or three years in order to fund drama school.

At McAvoys request, he was punched in the face by a German actress during the making of Filth (2013/I) .

Is close friends with X-Men co-star Michael Fassbender.

He has two roles in common with Patrick Stewart : (1) McAvoy played Macbeth in "ShakespeaRe-Told" {Macbeth } while Stewart played him in "Great Performances" {Macbeth (#39.3)} and Stewart played Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men , X2 , X-Men: The Last Stand , X-Men Origins: Wolverine , The Wolverine and X-Men: Days of Future Past while McAvoy played him in X: First Class , X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse .

On 9 March 2015, McAvoy was nominated for a Best Actor Olivier award for his performance as Jack, the 14th Earl of Gurney in "The Ruling Class" . The award ceremony takes place at the Royal Opera House in Londons Covent Garden on Sunday 12 April.

In April 2015 McAvoy pledged 125,000 to help fund a ten-year scholarship programme at his former drama school, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS). The fund will help those aged 25 and under who would otherwise be unable to afford tuition at the school. Applicants will need to demonstrate that financial cost is the main barrier to their accessing pre-higher education drama training at the RCS.

[2016] Drives an Audi RS3.

His first car was a Citroen C3 Picasso.

Crashed a 1980s Porsche 911 on the set of Atomic Blonde when a stunt went wrong.

Passed his car driving test at the age of 30, although he had ridden a motorcycle for many years.

An addiction to Xbox while he was filming Becoming Jane made him forget his lines.

McAvoy broke his hand on the set of Split (2016/IX) after he got angry at not getting a scene. He became so annoyed with his performance that he ended up hitting a door, which he thought was a fake door, but it was a solid metal door. Viewers can see that Jamess hand is injured during the scene where hes on a train and hes putting on his glasses.

In order to secure a career in Hollywood, McAvoy masked his Glaswegian accent, often convincing directors and producers that he was English. Even M. Night Shyamalan was fooled when he cast him in Split (2016/IX) ; the director thought all along that he was English.

And he had floppy hair, kind of bad hair, and I had really bad hair for,quite a long time when I was a kid.

I talk about this a lot when people ask me about my favorite films and,things, and I try to be as honest as possible, but it is,The Goonies (1985) . I did watch The Goonies (1985) a lot.

[When asked what an actor should never do] Read reviews. You just try,and do your job and not worry about what people say, because ultimately,it can only affect what you do in a negative way. It can only make you,a worse actor.

[on his decision to become an actor] I was faced with the prospect of,working in a bank for my work experience, and having heard about the,experience from a mate of mine, who was a year above me and went to the,same bank the year before, I was dreading it. It was sitting on your,a licking stamps and doing that for six days solid, nine to five.

At the beginning of my career I just set out to hopefully dupe people,into giving me any kind of work, and that was a lot of character work.

I take my job very seriously and if I start acting like an idiot off,screen, I lose that respect.

Earlier in my career, I used to look at other actors and maybe steal a,move here or there, but as I have gotten older, I prefer releasing the,idiosyncratic quality that every single person has. That is truly,interesting. In the pursuit of pretending and making things seem real,what is really interesting is watching somebody on camera or on stage,releasing things that only they could. That is really beautiful.

My last day on the film [Filth (2013/I) ] was on the "Reeperbahn",at midnight, face-down, on the concrete with extras and real people and,real prostitutes walking past me and not giving me much attention.

My carefree attitude disappeared when my son was born four years ago.

I never used to feel restricted by boundaries; anything was possible.

Drama teaches you to empathise and that stands you in good stead -,whether you are going to be an actor, a director or a plumber - it,improves your ability to connect with the world around you.

[on trying on different roles, depending on the circumstances] We all do,it. We take on different roles in different friendship groups and,social scenarios. In the playground we take on a persona and in the,classroom we take on a persona.

[on his role in "Macbeth"] The poetic, dramatic imagery, it fing gets,in, and so much of it is about approaching the gates of hell and,ripping people apart with your hands. That was pretty barbaric and,brutal, and it made me not pleasant.

From the age of seven or eight, I was quite sensitised to my ability to,be fairly manipulative. Not saying I was a fing infant Machiavelli,but I was interested in playing people, and that was something I did to,my benefit, at times.

I think fear is one of the natural states of most actors, to be honest.