James Andrew McAvoy (April 21, 1979[1]) is a BAFTA-winning Scottish actor.
Biography
Personal life
McAvoy was born in Scotstoun, Glasgow, the son of
Elizabeth (née Johnstone), a psychiatric nurse, and James McAvoy, a
builder.[2][3] His sister, Joy McAvoy, is a singer.[4] McAvoy's parents divorced when he was seven, and he subsequently lived with his
maternal grandparents, Mary and James Johnstone.[3] He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary in Jordanhill,
Glasgow, a Catholic school, and considered becoming a priest.[5][6] He was in the Pace Youth Theatre for over six years, trained by Mhari Gilbert,
and graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and
Drama in 2000. He once lived in a London houseshare with Jesse Spencer. He is
married to his Shameless co-star, Anne-Marie Duff. In his spare time, McAvoy enjoys sci fi, and is a fan
of Celtic Football Club.
Career
McAvoy's first roles were in David Hayman's The Near Room in 1995 and then as Anthony Balfour in Pat Barker's Regeneration in 1997. McAvoy got his
first big international break playing the role of Leto Atreides II in the
Sci Fi Channel miniseries
Children of Dune (adapted from Frank Herbert’s novels) which aired in 2003. In 2004 he starred as Steve McBride in another Abbott-written
drama series, Shameless on Channel 4, for which he was nominated for the
British Comedy Award for Best TV Newcomer. In 2005, he played Ben in the
Royal Court Theatre's production Breathing Corpses, as well as the role of
Mr. Tumnus, the Faun in Disney and Walden Media's
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe. He also starred in Wimbledon as Carl Colt and as
Macbeth in Shakespeare Retold.
In 2006, he starred alongside Forest Whitaker in an adaptation of Giles Foden’s novel The Last King of Scotland based on the (factual) events of the brutal
Ugandan dictator Idi
Amin’s regime as seen by his (fictional) personal physician during the 1970s. He took
the lead, Brian Jackson, in Starter for Ten (the adaptation of the
David Nicholls novel of the same
name). McAvoy won the new Mary Selway/Orange Rising Star Award at the 2006
BAFTA Awards.
McAvoy has roles in two films for 2007 - Becoming Jane and Atonement. He recently finished work on the film adaptation of Wanted. He is rumoured to be
appearing in the movie Frost Flowers, Channel 4 mini series The Devil's Whore.[7] In
2008 he will work on the movie Three Way Split for directors Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger.[8] Although it has been reported that he will be playing the role of
Montgomery Scott in the new movie version of Star
Trek,[9] this has been repeatedly denied by
McAvoy and his publicist.[10]
Theatre work
- The Tempest, Brunton Theatre - Ferdinand
- Romeo and Juliet, The Courtyard Hereford (1999) - Romeo
- West Side Story, The Courtyard Hereford (1999) - Riff
- Beauty and the Beast, Adam Smith Theatre (1999-2000, pantomime) - Bobby
- Romeo and Juliet (2000) - Romeo
- The Reel of the Hanged Man, Traverse Theatre (2000) - Gerald
- Lovers, Royal Lyceum Theatre - Joe
- Out In The Open, Hampstead Theatre (2001) - Iggy
- Privates On Parade, Donmar Warehouse (2001-2002) - Pt Steven Flowers
- Breathing Corpses, Royal Court Theatre (2005) - Ben
Selected Filmography
References
External links
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