James McAvoy
Birthdate: Apr 21, 1979
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland, UK
James McAvoy has reached premiere status among Scottish-born actors on screen and stage, best known for his recurring dual role as Charles Xavier/Professor X in the X-Men series movies X-Men: First Class (2011), co-starring Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult; X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Dark Phoenix (2019) and as Crumb in M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable trilogy thrillers Split (2016), co-starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Betty Buckley, and Glass (2019), co-starring Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Taylor-Joy, and Sarah Paulson. McAvoy had his feature debut as a cast member in director/actor David Hayman’s Glasgow-set drama, The Near Room (1995), with Adrian Dunbar and Andy Serkis.
McAvoy joined the starry ensemble of director/writer Stephen Fry’s Bright Young Things (2003), his adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s 1930 novel, Vile Bodies co-starring Emily Mortimer, Stephen Campbell Moore, Stockard Channing, Michael Sheen, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Peter O’Toole, Imelda Staunton, Richard E. Grant, and John Mills. McAvoy played support to stars Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany in the Richard Loncraine-directed rom-com Wimbledon (2004), with Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, and Bernard Hill, which was released by Universal Pictures in most territories.
James McAvoy played one of his first voice roles in Disney’s C.S. Lewis adaptation, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), with William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, Jim Broadbent, and Ray Winstone, under co-writer Andrew Adamson’s direction, grossing a successful $745 million globally. McAvoy played a doctor and confidant to Oscar-nominated Forest Whitaker’s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the Kevin Macdonald-directed The Last King of Scotland (2006), with Kerry Washington, Simon McBurney, and Gillian Anderson, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival before a very successful ($48.4 million gross) release by Fox Searchlight.
McAvoy landed his first starring role in the Tom Hanks-produced comedy-drama, Starter for 10 (2006), written by David Nicholls and directed by Tom Vaughan, with a cast including Alice Eve, Rebecca Hall, Charles Dance, Lindsay Duncan, and Benedict Cumberbatch, and released by Picturehouse after a Toronto Film Festival premiere; and then McAvoy had another 2006 Toronto premiere, co-starring with Christina Ricci and co-star/producer Reese Witherspoon in the Mark Palansky-directed rom-com Penelope (2006), with Catherine O’Hara, Peter Dinklage and Richard E. Grant, and released by Summit Entertainment/Hyde Park International/Momentum Pictures.
McAvoy was back the next year for another Toronto premiere as a co-star in the Jane Austen biopic, Becoming Jane (2007), starring Anne Hathaway, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, and Maggie Smith under Julian Jarrold’s direction, grossing a solid $39.4 million for its US/UK/Irish backers (including Miramax Films and BBC Films) and distributor Buena Vista International.
James McAvoy enjoyed his acting breakthrough as co-lead under Joe Wright’s direction in screenwriter Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel, Atonement (2007), co-starring Keira Knightley, with Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn, Juno Temple, and Benedict Cumberbatch, and which opened the Venice Film Festival before going on to gross a strong $131 million worldwide (on $30 million costs) for distributors StudioCanal and Universal Pictures and scoring seven Oscar nominations including best picture. McAvoy turned action man as co-star with Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie in Universal Pictures’ hit comic book-based assassin action movie, Wanted (2008), directed by Timur Bekmambetov and earning over $342 million globally.
McAvoy played opposite Christopher Plummer (as Leo Tolstoy) and Helen Mirren (as Tolstoy’s wife) in director/writer Michael Hoffman’s bio-drama The Last Station (2009), with Paul Giamatti, Anne-Marie Duff, and Kerry Condon, and premiering at the Telluride Film Festival with distribution by Warner Bros./Optimum Releasing/Nashe Kino. McAvoy joined director/producer Robert Redford for the Lincoln assassination drama, The Conspirator (2010), co-starring Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Huston, Justin Long, Colm Meaney, and Tom Wilkerson care of distributors Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions/Focus Features International.
James McAvoy performed the lead voice role in Aardman Animation’s/Sony Pictures Animation’s holiday comedy, Arthur Christmas (2011), with the voice ensemble of Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, and Imelda Staunton under Sarah Smith’s direction for a $147.4 million return, followed by McAvoy voiced Gnomeo in both Disney/Touchstone’s much more successful kids-oriented animated feature, Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), with the voices of Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters, Ozzy Osbourne, Dolly Parton, and Hulk Hogan, grossing $194 million (of $36 million costs), and also Sherlock Gnomes (2018), with new voices Johnny Depp, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ashley Jensen, and Mary J. Blige, and which grossed a combined $284 million (off a combined cost of $95 million costs).
McAvoy then joined director Danny Boyle for the thriller Trance (2013), co-written by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge, and co-starring Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson, and released globally by Fox Searchlight Pictures/20th Century Fox/Pathé Distribution. McAvoy starred as a bullying Edinburgh detective in director/writer/producer Jon Baird’s film adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s 1998 novel, Filth (2013), co-starring Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsan, and Imogen Poots, grossing $9 million, before McAvoy joined co-star Jessica Chastain for director/writer/producer Ned Benson’s unusual triple feature The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2013), with Nina Arianda, Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Ciaran Hinds, Isabelle Huppert, and William Hurt, premiering as a work-in-progress at the Toronto Film Festival and with the third feature premiering at Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard competition before released by The Weinstein Company.
McAvoy co-starred with Charlize Theron in the action thriller Atomic Blonde (2017), with John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, and Toby Jones under David Leitch’s debut direction, and delivering a strong $100 million (against $30 million costs) for Focus Features.
James McAvoy joined German filmmaker Wim Wenders for one of his worst films, Submergence (2017), co-starring Alicia Vikander, and released to poor box office by Samuel Goldwyn Films after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. McAvoy played adult Bill in the sequel directed by Andy Muschietti, It Chapter Two (2019), the second half of the film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 epic horror novel, co-starring Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgård, grossing $473 million for New Line Cinema/Warner Bros.
McAvoy was cast by French director/writer/producer Christian Carion to co-star with Claire Foy in the US/UK/Germany co-production, My Son (2021), the English-language remake of Carion’s French film, Mon garçon (2017), in which McAvoy delivers an entirely improvised performance, and then McAvoy shifted to comedy mode as—of all historical figures--Pontius Pilate in director/writer/producer Jeymes Samuel’s Biblical comedy-drama, The Book of Clarence (2023), starring LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Benedict Cumberbatch, premiering at the London Film Festival and released to mixed reviews and disappointing box office ($6 million returns on $40 million costs) for producers Legendary Pictures/Kilburn Lane and distributor TriStar Pictures.
McAvoy delivered a lead performance in another English-language remake of a European (in this case, Danish) movie, the psychological horror drama Speak No Evil (2024), written and directed by James Watkins and co-starring Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy and Aisling Franciosi, and released by Universal Pictures. James McAvoy reunited with Aisling Franciosi for the British-made thriller directed and written by Jamie Adams, Turn Up the Sun! (date to be announced), with Lucas Bravo and Almudena Amor, and then McAvoy co-starred with Julianne Moore in the Robert Schwentke-directed action movie in Control (date to be announced), adapted by Zack Akers and Andrew Baldwin from Akers’ and Skip Bronkie’s podcast, Shipworm.
Personal Details
James McAvoy was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland by his parents James (bus driver, builder) and Elizabeth (psychiatric nurse). McAvoy was then raised by his maternal grandparents, James (butcher) and Mary Johnstone after his parents divorced when he was eleven. McAvoy has one sister, Joy, and one younger half-brother, Donald. McAvoy attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. McAvoy had applied for service in the Royal Navy but was accepted attended and graduated in 2000 with a BA degree in acting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama). McAvoy married English actor Anne-Marie Duff from 2006 to 2016; the couple has one child, Brendan. McAvoy has been married to actor Lisa Liberati since 2022; the couple has one child. McAvoy’s height is 5’ 7”. McAvoy’s estimated net worth is $20 million.
Awards
Winner, Rising Star Award, BAFTA Awards (2006); Winner, Best Actor, British Independent Film Awards (2013); Winner, Male Revelation Chopard Trophy, Cannes Film Festival (2007); Two-time Nominee, Best European Actor, European Film Awards (2007, 2008); Nominee, Best Actor—Drama, Golden Globe Awards (2008); Two-time Nominee, Best Kiss/Best Movie Actor, MTV Movie + TV Awards (2009, 2017); Four-time Nominee, Best Actor, Olivier Awards (2010, 2013, 2015, 2020).
BAFTA Film Award
BAFTA Awards
Golden Globe
Golden Globes, USA
Filmography
actor
Previous (41)
- 2024 | Speak No EvilasPaddy
Speak No Evil
A family is invited to spend a weekend in an idyllic country house, unaware that their dream vacation will soon become a psychological nightmare.
- 2024 | The Book of ClarenceasPontius Pilate
The Book of Clarence
Struggling to find a better life, Clarence is captivated by the power of the rising Messiah and soon risks everything to carve a path to a divine existence.
- 2023 | Escapeas Self - Cheri Domingo's Daughter
- 2021 | My Sonas Edmond Murray
- 2021 |
- 2020 | The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
- 2020 | National Theater Live: Cyrano de Bergerac: 2020 Re-releaseasCyrano de Bergerac
National Theater Live: Cyrano de Bergerac: 2020 Re-release
An intense, raw and deep revival of Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac by the Jamie Lloyd Company.
- 2019 | Dark Phoenixas Professor Charles Xavier
- 2019 | It Chapter TwoasBill Denbrough
It Chapter Two
Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.
- 2019 | X-Men: Dark PhoenixasProfessor Charles Xavier
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix, causing the X-Men to decide if her life is worth more than all of humanity.
- 2020 | National Theater Live: Cyrano de BergeracasCyrano de Bergerac
National Theater Live: Cyrano de Bergerac
An intense, raw and deep revival of Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac by the Jamie Lloyd Company.
- 2019 |
- 2018 | Sherlock GnomesasGnomeo
Sherlock Gnomes
Garden gnomes, Gnomeo and Juliet recruit renowned detective Sherlock Gnomes to investigate the mysterious disappearance of other garden ornaments.
- 2017 | Atomic BlondeasDavid Percival
Atomic Blonde
An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
- 2017 |
- 2016 | X-Men: ApocalypseasProfessor Charles Xavier
X-Men: Apocalypse
In the 1980s the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive through bringing destruction to the world.
- 2015 | Victor FrankensteinasVictor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein
Told from Igor's perspective, we see the troubled young assistant's dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Viktor Von Frankenstein, and become eyewitnesses to the emergence of how Frankenstein became the man - and the legend - we know today.
- 2014 | The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Themas Conor Ludlow
- 2014 |
- 2014 | X-Men: Days of Future PastasCharles Xavier
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
- 2013 | Filthas Bruce
- 2013 | The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Heras Conor Ludlow
- 2013 | The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Himas Conor Ludlow
- 2013 | Tranceas Simon
- 2013 | Welcome to the Punchas Max Lewinsky
- 2011 | Gnomeo & Julietas Gnomeo
- 2011 | X-Men: First Classas Charles Xavier (30 Years)
- 2011 | Arthur ChristmasasArthur
Arthur Christmas
Santa's clumsy son Arthur sets out on a mission with Grandsanta to give out a present they misplaced to a young girl in less than two hours.
- 2010 | The Conspiratoras Frederick Aiken
- 2009 | The Last Stationas Valentin
- 2008 | Wantedas Wesley
- 2008 |
- 2007 | Atonementas Robbie Turner
- 2007 | Becoming Janeas Tom Lefroy
- 2007 |
- 2006 | Penelopeas Johnny
- 2006 | Starter for 10as Brian Jackson
- 2006 | The Last King of Scotlandas Dr. Nicholas Garrigan
- 2004 | Rory O'Shea Was Hereas Rory O'Shea
- 2004 | Stringsas Hal
- 2002 | Bollywood Queenas Jay
Some Facts About James McAvoy
Priest to be?: James McAvoy flirted as a child to become a Catholic priest.
Tough Childhood: McAvoy has noted that he hadn’t had any contact with his late father since his childhood, which was challenged by his parent’s divorce and being raised by his maternal grandparents since his late mother was in such poor health.
Stage Actor: James McAvoy has had a robust theater career, starring in such West End productions as Three Days of Rain (2009), Macbeth (2013), The Ruling Class (2015) and Cyrano de Bergerac (2019-2022).
