At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2014

Scottish actor James McAvoy made his acting debut as a teen in the 1995 film The Near Room with Andy Serkis. He appeared in the films Wimbledon (2004) and Inside I'm Dancing (2004), before being cast as Mr. Tumnus in the 2005 fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, based on C. S. Lewis's 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The following year, he starred in Kevin Macdonald's drama film The Last King of Scotland. He co-starred in the romance films Penelope with Christina Ricci (2006), Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway (2007), and Atonement with Keira Knightley (2007). In 2008, he starred as assassin Wesley Gibson in the action thriller film Wanted with Angelina Jolie.

In 2011, McAvoy was cast as Charles Xavier, a fictional character based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. He has played the role in the superhero films X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018) and Dark Phoenix (2019). McAvoy starred in the 2013 crime comedy-drama film Filth, for which he won Best Actor in the British Independent Film Awards.[1] A year later, he starred with Jessica Chastain in the drama film The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, the collective title of three films split into three parts, Him, Her and Them. In 2016, he portrayed Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 23 alternate personalities, in M. Night Shyamalan's Split, for which he received critical acclaim,[2][3] and later reprised the role for the sequel Glass (2019). He has starred in the science fiction horror film Victor Frankenstein with Daniel Radcliffe (2015), action thriller film Atomic Blonde with Charlize Theron (2017), and played Bill Denbrough in the supernatural horror film It Chapter Two, the second installment of the It film series based on Stephen King's 1986 novel of the same name.

McAvoy's television work includes a minor role in the HBO war drama miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), the thriller State of Play (2003) and as Leto II Atreides in the science fiction miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003). From 2004 to 2005, he played Steve McBride in the British comedy drama Shameless. Since 2019, he has portrayed Lord Asriel Belacqua in the BBC/HBO fantasy series His Dark Materials.

He has performed in several West End productions and has received four nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.

Film

At Hollywood Life Magazine's 7th Annual Breakthrough Awards in December 2007
At the San Diego Comic Con in July 2013
At the San Diego Comic Con in July 2015
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1995 The Near Room Kevin Savage [4]
1997 An Angel Passes By Local boy Short film [5]
1997 Regeneration Anthony Balfour [6]
2001 Swimming Pool Mike [7]
2003 Bright Young Things The Earl of Balcairn [8]
2003 Bollywood Queen Jay [9]
2004 Wimbledon Carl Colt [10]
2004 Strings Hal Tara (voice)
2004 Inside I'm Dancing Rory O'Shea
2005 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Mr. Tumnus [11][12]
2006 The Last King of Scotland Nicholas Garrigan [13]
2006 Starter for 10 Brian Jackson
2006 Penelope Johnny Martin
2007 Becoming Jane Thomas Langlois Lefroy [14]
2007 Atonement Robbie Turner [15]
2008 Wanted Wesley Gibson [16]
2009 The Last Station Valentin Bulgakov
2010 The Conspirator Frederick Aiken
2011 Gnomeo & Juliet Gnomeo (voice) [17]
2011 X-Men: First Class Charles Xavier
2011 Arthur Christmas Arthur Claus (voice) [17]
2013 Welcome to the Punch Max Lewinsky
2013 Trance Simon Newton
2013 Filth Bruce Robertson
2014 Muppets Most Wanted Delivery man Cameo [18]
2014 X-Men: Days of Future Past Charles Xavier Shared roles with Patrick Stewart [19]
2014 The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Conor Ludlow [20]
2015 Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein [21]
2016 X-Men: Apocalypse Professor Charles Xavier [22]
2016 Split Kevin Wendell Crumb / The Beast [23]
2017 Atomic Blonde David Percival [24]
2017 Submergence James Moore
2018 Sherlock Gnomes Gnomeo (voice) [17]
2018 Deadpool 2 Charles Xavier Uncredited cameo [25]
2019 Glass Kevin Wendell Crumb / The Beast [26]
2019 Dark Phoenix Professor Charles Xavier [22]
2019 It Chapter Two Bill Denbrough Shared role with Jaeden Martell [27]
2021 My Son Edmond Murray [28]
2022 The Bubble Himself Cameo [29]
2023 The Book of Clarence Pontius Pilate [30]
2024 Speak No Evil † TBA Filming [31]
TBA Turn Up The Sun! † TBA Filming [32]
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1997 The Bill Gavin Donald Episode: "Rent" [33]
2001 Band of Brothers James W. Miller Episode: "Replacements" [34]
2001 Lorna Doone Sergeant Bloxham Television film [5]
2001 Murder in Mind Martin Vosper Episode: "Teacher" [35]
2002 White Teeth Josh Malfen 2 episodes [36]
2002 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Gowan Ross Episode: "Payment in Blood" [37]
2002 Foyle's War Ray Pritchard Episode: "The German Woman" [38]
2003 Frank Herbert's Children of Dune Leto II Atreides 3 episodes [39]
2003 State of Play Dan Foster 6 episodes [40]
2003 Early Doors Liam 4 episodes [41]
2004–2005 Shameless Steve McBride 13 episodes [42]
2005 ShakespeaRe-Told Joe Macbeth Episode: "Macbeth" [43]
2018 Watership Down Hazel (voice) 4 episodes [44]
2019 Saturday Night Live Himself / Host Episode: "James McAvoy/Meek Mill" [45]
2019–2022 His Dark Materials Lord Asriel Belacqua 8 episodes [46][47]
2021 Together He Television film [48]
2022 The Sandman Golden-Haired Man (voice) Episode: "Dream of a Thousand Cats" [49]

Stage

Year Title Role Venue Ref.
1999 West Side Story Riff Courtyard Centre for the Arts Hereford [5]
1999 Romeo and Juliet Romeo Courtyard Centre for the Arts Hereford [5]
1999 Beauty and the Beast Bobby Buckfast Adam Smith Theatre [50]
2000 The Tempest Ferdinand Brunton Theatre [5]
2000 The Reel of the Hanged Man Gerald Traverse Theatre [5]
2000 Lovers Joe Royal Lyceum Theatre [5]
2001 Out In The Open Iggy Hampstead Theatre [51]
2001 Privates on Parade Private Steven Flowers Donmar Warehouse [52]
2005 Breathing Corpses Ben Royal Court Theatre [53]
2009 Three Days of Rain Walker & Ned Apollo Theatre [54]
2013 Macbeth Macbeth Trafalgar Studios [55]
2015 The Ruling Class Jack Gurney Trafalgar Studios [56]
2019-2022 Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano Playhouse Theatre
Brooklyn Academy of Music 		[57]

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes Ref.
2016 F1 2016 Team Radio
2021 Twelve Minutes Man [58]

Audiobooks and radio

Year Title Role Ref.
2013 Neverwhere Richard Mayhew [5]
2015 Orson Welles' Heart of Darkness Marlow [5]
2020 The Sandman Dream [59]

References

  1. ^ Wyatt, Daisy (9 December 2013). "James McAvoy wins best actor at British Independent Film Awards – News – Films". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Split (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  3. ^ Rose, Steve (12 January 2017). "From Split to Psycho: why cinema fails dissociative identity disorder". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  4. ^ Bajgrowicz, Brooke (11 March 2020). "James McAvoy's 10 Best Movies (According To IMDb)". ScreenRant. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "James McAvoy | United Agents". United Agents. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Regeneration". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  7. ^ Kdr, Vishal (19 April 2023). ""When in California, get really hammered": James McAvoy Landed $278.5M Movie Role as He Was Too Drunk to Say No to M. Night Shyamalan". fandomwire.com. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Bright Young Things". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Bollywood Queen". 2 February 2003. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Wimbledon". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Saturday Night Live: James McAvoy Revives Chronicles of Narnia Character". Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  12. ^ "'Have they f***!': James McAvoy says he has not been asked to be in Narnia reboot". The Independent. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  13. ^ "The Last King of Scotland: Getting away scot-free with genocide". TheGuardian.com. 11 June 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  14. ^ Levine, Nick (7 March 2007). "'Becoming Jane': James McAvoy, Julie Walters". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  15. ^ Tinoco, Armando (4 December 2022). "James McAvoy Reveals Why He Didn't Campaign To Land Oscar For 'Atonement': "I Felt Cheap"". Deadline. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  16. ^ Pratt, Chris (28 June 2023). "Chris Pratt Celebrates 15 Years of Wanted By Remembering How James McAvoy Hit Him in the Face With a Keyboard". SYFY Official Site (Interview). Interviewed by Josh Weiss. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  17. ^ a b c "James McAvoy (Visual voices guide)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  18. ^ Maidment, James. "'Muppets Most Wanted' star cameos". USA TODAY. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Patrick Stewart & Ian McKellen Join 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'". Screenrant.com. 27 November 2012. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  20. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller. "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them movie review (2014) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  21. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (24 November 2015). "Victor Frankenstein review – Radcliffe and McAvoy can't save this monster". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  22. ^ a b Sharf, Zack (28 November 2022). "James McAvoy Says His 'X-Men' Movies 'Didn't Take Advantage' of Xavier and Magneto's Relationship: 'My Biggest Criticism'". Variety. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  23. ^ Orquiola, John (12 January 2019). "Glass Theory: James McAvoy's Split Character Was In Unbreakable All Along". ScreenRant. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  24. ^ James, Emily St (27 July 2017). "Atomic Blonde is thrilling, gorgeous nonsense. More, please!". Vox. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  25. ^ Francisco, Eric (18 May 2018). "'Deadpool 2' X-Men Cameo Is the Greatest in Marvel Movie History". Inverse. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  26. ^ Truitt, Brian. "'Glass': How James McAvoy got into Beast mode to play a muscular supervillain". USA TODAY. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  27. ^ Dugan, Kaylee (20 January 2022). "The Reason It Chapter Two Gave James McAvoy Nightmares". /Film. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  28. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 October 2020). "James McAvoy & Claire Foy To Star In STXfilms' 'My Son', English-Remake Of French Thriller".
  29. ^ Williams, Jordan (2 April 2022). "Every Celebrity Cameo In The Bubble Explained". ScreenRant. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  30. ^ Kit, Borys (5 December 2022). "Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, RJ Cyler, Anna Diop Join Jeymes Samuel's Book of Clarence (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  31. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (18 January 2024). "Blumhouse's James McAvoy Thriller 'Speak No Evil' Heads To Fall". Deadline. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  32. ^ Noraas, Dana (20 October 2023). "'Speak No Evil': Cast, Release Date, and Everything We Know About the American Remake". Collider. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  33. ^ Robison, Abby (19 October 2018). "Surprising A-listers who have appeared in The Bill". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  34. ^ Willeford, Jacob (2 May 2022). "The Role You Might Have Forgotten James McAvoy Had On Band Of Brothers". Looper. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  35. ^ "James McAvoy". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  36. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "White Teeth DVD". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  37. ^ "BBC One - The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Series 1, Payment in Blood". BBC. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  38. ^ Cotter, Padraig (28 July 2020). "How Tall Is James McAvoy?". ScreenRant. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  39. ^ Sharf, Zack (28 September 2021). "James McAvoy Learned a Valuable Lesson About Sci-Fi After Starring in 2003 'Dune' Series". IndieWire. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  40. ^ "'Shameless' Creator Paul Abbott is Rebooting His BAFTA-Winning Series 'State of Play' for the BBC". November 2019. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  41. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Early Doors characters". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  42. ^ Sargeant, Rebecca (12 November 2023). "10 Hollywood Stars Who Started Their Careers In British Sitcoms". ScreenRant. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  43. ^ "BBC - Drama - Shakespeare - Macbeth - James McAvoy as Joe Macbeth". BBC. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  44. ^ Romano, Nick (4 December 2018). "'Watership Down' with John Boyega, James McAvoy gets first trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  45. ^ Swift, Andy (14 January 2019). "James McAvoy to Host SNL". TVLine. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  46. ^ "'His Dark Materials' star James McAvoy brings new dimensions to Lord Asriel". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  47. ^ McLean, Craig (11 December 2022). "'I need to slow down': James McAvoy on family, faith – and painful truths". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  48. ^ Mangan, Lucy (17 June 2021). "Together review – Sharon Horgan and James McAvoy let rip in lockdown tour de force". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  49. ^ Cremona, Patrick (19 August 2022). "David Tennant and James McAvoy join bonus episode of The Sandman". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  50. ^ "X-Men star James McAvoy's unknown role as Bobby Buckfast in panto at Fife theatre". www.fifetoday.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  51. ^ Billington, Michael (22 March 2001). "Theatre review: Out In The Open". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  52. ^ Billington, Michael (11 December 2001). "Privates on Parade, Donmar Warehouse, London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  53. ^ Billington, Michael (1 March 2005). "Breathing Corpses, Royal Court, London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  54. ^ Billington, Michael (11 February 2009). "Theatre review: Three Days of Rain / Apollo, London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  55. ^ Billington, Michael (24 February 2013). "Macbeth – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  56. ^ Clapp, Susannah (8 February 2015). "The Ruling Class review – James McAvoy saves the show". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  57. ^ "Cyrano de Bergerac review – James McAvoy is fierce in radical reboot of romantic classic". The Guardian. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  58. ^ Romano, Nick (27 August 2020). "Exclusive: Daisy Ridley and James McAvoy delve into their interactive time-loop thriller 'Twelve Minutes'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  59. ^ Craig, David (4 August 2022). "The Sandman star wasn't influenced by James McAvoy's Dream". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 January 2024.

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